


Unforgiving

by Schizzar



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Gold & Silver & Crystal | Pokemon Gold Silver Crystal Versions
Genre: All Regions, Anal Sex, And Champion, M/M, Oral Sex, Pretty Much Every Single Gym Leader, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-12
Updated: 2013-02-16
Packaged: 2017-11-25 05:55:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 42,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/635807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schizzar/pseuds/Schizzar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Years ago, a disease swept the land, wiping out Pokemon and humans alike, only to mysteriously end. When it returns, Falkner is thrust into an age old battle, and Morty has a connection, and a darkness, of his own waiting to blossom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been posted on my fanfiction account for months now, but I finally decided to post it here despite how tiny the Pokémon fandom is on this site. I do plan to eventually move all my fics here anyways. Thoughts and whatnot are greatly appreciated.

A lesson Morty had learned at an early age, was that life was fleeting. People you counted on being there, people you loved, cherished, Pokémon that you considered your companions and best friends, they could vanish in a moment. Sometimes, there would be little fanfare. A man would die, passing on peacefully in his sleep, his ailment nothing more than old age. Other times, death grabbed the living and tugged them down, kicking and screaming through a cold, painful journey that would always end the same. No matter which way a person left life, it was always hard to let them go.

Ecruteak had been struck by a plague when Morty was only nine years old. The plague came from nowhere, was not treatable, and did not discriminate. Man, woman, child, elderly, Pokémon of any strength, all fell to the disease. It was mercifully quick. It would start with a headache, followed by a bout of dizziness. Soon after, the victim would slip into sleep, and after three days of not being able to wake, would pass on.

It was in this manner, the Ecruteak clan of ghost trainers almost died out. The clan had produced the Gym Leaders at Ecruteak for years, having been the descendants of the original settlers, and builders of the two towers. Morty was a part of that clan, and the lone survivor of the plague. He spent a better part of the year watching as one by one, family members related closely and distantly fell to the same sickness. He spent most of his time in the graveyard, honoring one or more of his relatives. Always he was accompanied by another, usually his brother or parents. Eventually, it was only his brother and his mom. And then, it was only his brother. Finally, he stood alone, surrounded by the graves that contained those he had held so close to him, with no one for company.

It was at this point that the disease stopped. No more lives were claimed. No one came to comfort the boy, the last heir with the ability to take over as Gym Leader. A boy who had no Pokémon of his own, and had never shown any interest in being leader, let alone Pokémon. It seemed that Ecruteak would have to pass the leadership onto another town. No one was able to coax the boy out of his house, a mansion that had once held all of the clan within its walls.

Four days after the passing of his brother, he emerged, cloaked in black with the badge clipped to the tattered purple scarf around his neck. Beside him were ghost Pokémon that many had never seen or heard of, and it was rumored that they had come from a distant land to assist the boy. No one had ever asked for the truth.

He hadn't offered it either, saying only that he would travel to the Hoenn League and prove his worth as a Gym Leader. He returned within the year, and it was as if he had not changed. The haunted look remained in his eye, and he locked himself within the Gym, fighting and defeating, and on a rare occasion, losing, to the trainers that passed through. For years, this was how things were. The town had begun to rebuild slowly in those years he spent locked away, but they never quite got used to the lack of leadership. The clan had always done their best to manage the town's funds and keep everything in the best shape possible, and yet Morty had never been spotted at a single meeting.

Then one day, six years after the plague, he appeared in the back row of the meeting hall, watching as business progressed with a careful and unreadable gaze. In the following weeks, he began to participate, no more than a sentence or two there, and at first, the town was weary of his advice. Slowly, they began to talk back to him, offering a counter point here and there. Nearly a year after his first visit, a basket of bread was delivered in front of the gym.

Morty somehow knew who the gift was from, and had gone to the house to thank them in person, a gentle half smile on his face. Over the following years, Morty integrated himself further into their society, becoming a trusted leader, a person to turn to when there was a problem, but never did he open up to them. Always he gave his time, but never did he ask anything of anyone else. He had turned into a selfless man. Perhaps he had always been, just never had been able to show it.

No one knew, for no one could get close to him. People had tried. He received pressure to marry and produce another heir, but he always laughed off the suggestions, never taking them seriously. He kept his distance. You could ask him a question, but he'd always redirect, flawlessly, so somehow you ended up talking about yourself without even realizing it. No one was allowed in. Over time, people became content with that. They accepted his need for privacy, happy just to have a new leader who cared.

-.-

Falkner brushed dark blue hair out of his father's face, noting how hot the man's forehead was. He looked to the side and picked up a cloth, cold from the water he had soaked it with. Gently, he placed the cloth on the man's head, hoping to bring down the fever at least a little, hoping that maybe he would awaken from his slumber. His father was the Gym Leader of the Violet City Gym, and when the man had slipped into a deep sleep three days ago, the city had panicked. The man had never been known to be sick, and never had they seen someone slip into a sleep from which they couldn't be awakened.

Falkner drove off the concerned city members though. It was not their business. He could take care of his father just fine. The doctor visited each day, but that was it. He did not want to hear people speaking as though his father was already dead, as if he would never awaken. Perhaps, it was denial.

The man groaned and shifted in his bed, the first movement he had in days.

"Father?" Falkner asked, grabbing the man's hands and holding them tightly. "Father, are you awake?"

The man's eyes fluttered and opened, his look hazy and glazed. "Falkner...you're here."

"Yes, of course. Do you need water? I have some here if you-"

"No, no. I need...I need to speak with you. I don't have much longer," he wheezed.

"No, Father. You'll be fine. You just need some more rest, and some food. You'll get your energy back," Falkner said.

"Falkner, listen to me. This is not...a natural disease. You need to stop it before it grows...you can't let it infect anyone else," he murmured. "Go to Ecruteak. There...they know of this. Tell them what has happened. They can...help you."

"Father, no, you don't know what you're saying. You're delirious from fever," Falkner said, panic rising in his chest.

"Falkner, I have been awake. But asleep. I have been...meditating. It is a waking sleep that I suffer. I could not...respond to you or the doctor, but I could hear you. So I meditated instead, looked deep within myself to...find the source. This is no accident. There is...an angry being somewhere. They want revenge. You must...stop this," he murmured. "I am not long for this world. I must leave you now. I don't have the strength to stay here."

"Father, please," Falkner hissed. "You do have the strength. You can't leave me."

"Go to Ecruteak, Falkner. Do not delay. Leave now. You  _must_ learn whatever you can about this," he said.

"H-How? Without you...I'm not ready to be a Gym Leader Father. I can't..."

"Falkner...I love you. I am sorry it has to be this way. But please. Do not be sad. Grieve, but do not delay. There is no time," his father said. "Go. Now."

Falkner stood, swallowing thickly. "Okay. I-I'll go."

He raced from the room, ripping a pokeball from the folds of his shirt. He emerged from the house and released his Pidgeotto, leaping onto her back at once. Panic made his blood roar through his ears as his Pidgeotto took to the air, riding the drafts up and soaring towards Ecruteak. His mind was racing too fast for actual thought, his father's orders pulsing through his head in a steady beat that urged him onwards.

In what felt like no time at all, his Pidgeotto landed on the ground in a flurry of dust and feathers. He tumbled from his back, ignoring the stares of several of the townsfolk, instead trying to think of where to go, where his father wanted him to go.  _The gym,_ he thought.  _The Gym Leader can help._

He didn't bother returning Pidgeotto to his ball, instead running towards the Gym and slipping through the doors. The gym was bathed in darkness and he almost flinched as he tried to pinpoint where the leader would be.

"P-please. I'm not here to fight. I need to speak with you," he called out into the darkness. "I-I need help."

Before him, purple smoke drifted, and moments later a man stood before him, blond hair tousled and held in some semblance of order by a black slip of fabric tied around his head.

"What's wrong? Whoa, calm down," the leader said, as Falkner began to breath heavily. "Hey now. Calm down. It's alright."

"My father, he said to come here. He's dying...or dead...or...dammit I'm not there. I should be there, not here, but he said that I-I had to c-come here. That y-you could help and I-I...please."

"You're Falkner right? Can you tell me again what's going on? Just take a deep breath, you're alright," the man said.

Falkner sucked in a deep breath, letting it out in a rush. "My father had a headache, three days ago. He went to lie down and fell asleep. He didn't awaken until today. He s-said that he was dying, that he couldn't stay awake any longer. He told me that...I was to tell you what had happened, that you could help. I came as fast as I could."

The man's welcoming and comforting expression contorted into something ugly, anger and hatred slipping into his eyes. Almost immediately it was destroyed. "I can't help. I'm sorry."

"N-No you have to!"

The man grabbed his arm, pulling him forward into the darkness. Too weak to protest, Falkner just kept his eyes closed and tried to calm down, knowing that yelling and screaming wouldn't help. The man came to a halt and when he opened his eyes, he stood in a small bedroom, lit by several lamps and a window on the western wall.

"It's too late for your father. I'm sorry. Did he say why he wanted you to come here?"

Falkner stared at the floor, trying to wrap his head around the enormity of the situation. "He said it wasn't a natural disease. He said that someone is angry a-and..."

He was angry then, because he could feel a hot wetness trailing down his cheeks, and realized he was crying. The man seemed to realize this as well, and he stepped forward to draw him into a tight embrace. Falkner bit his lip to stop the sob that threatened in his throat.

"Let's get you back home, alright?" he said quietly, rubbing Falkner's back.

"What's the point? It's like you s-said. He's gone," Falkner mumbled.

"I...wasn't thinking. Come on now. I bet everyone's worried about you."

"I'm not a little kid!"

The man pulled back, a twitch of a smile on his face. "Yeah, I know. But you're the leader's son right? Gives you special status, huh?"

Falkner glanced away. "We should go. They probably are worrying. But they don't need to."

"I know they don't. You can take care of yourself. You got here alright after all. I'm Morty. Not really the right time for an introduction but," the man shrugged. "Come on."

-.-

Inside, Morty's gut twisted upon itself, threatening to erupt and make his carefully constructed barriers fall to the ground in a heap. He had known, suspected that the disease would return. He had left Falkner outside his father's room, venturing into the darkened room himself, unwilling to let the younger see for himself if his father was dead. He neared the bedside, then lit the lamp once more. Yes, there was the tell tale sign of Walker's chest rising and falling. He was still alive.

"Walker. If you can hear me...please...wake up."

He knelt at the bedside, violet gaze trained on the man's still face, willing those eyes to open. The man's muscles spasmed and slowly, his eyes fluttered and opened, focusing at once on Morty's face.

"Ah. My son was able to get you, was he?"

"He's a very brave boy, Walker."

Walker waved his hand in dismissal. "I have a message for you. I gave it to Falkner, in case you failed to reach me in time. The disease that took your family is back. I do not know if it will spread as swiftly as it once did, but you need to know. It comes...from somewhere in the north. If you don't stop it then I fear of what will happen when it escalates. That is all I can tell you. I hope it is enough."

"You have figured out more than I could ever hope for. I only wish...that you would not leave us yet."

"You should know of everyone how fickle life is. Do not weep over my passing. Do not let Falkner linger over my death. Heal him, train him. He must prove himself to the league if he wishes to be my successor."

"And if he doesn't?"

"He must. He must...there is no one else who can do it. Do what you can to stop this sickness, and help Falkner. Those are the tasks I leave you with."

"I will do everything in my power to succeed. Rest easy, Walker. Your life has been a full one."

"Father?"

Morty turned to see Falkner hovering the doorway. Silently, he motioned the boy closer. He stumbled over, tripping over his feet and finally coming to a halt beside Morty, eyes shining as he gripped his father's hand tight.

"You will be a magnificent leader, Falkner. I have never doubted your strength. Fight well, and honorably. You have...been such a good son. I love you."

"Father, you can't..."

Walker's eyes closed as he sighed. "Falkner, live a good life."

"Father...Father I love you."

Walker doesn't respond, and his chest was still. Falkner's hands trembled, the shivers spreading to his arms and body until the whole boy was shaking. His face was impassive as he shuddered, but finally, the dam broke and a flood of tears washed down his face. Morty swallowed tightly, then wrapped his arms around the younger, pulling him away from the bed and into his chest. Biting his lip, he rested his chin on the messy mop of blue hair as the other sobbed with huge gaping breaths.

"What...what do I do now?" he finally asked into the man's shoulder.

"We have a job to do. But perhaps...a day of rest, then the funeral. After that...we will take care of the things your father has left us," Morty said, not releasing the boy. He had been in his shoes. It hurt to see another feeling the pain he had once felt, and he wanted nothing more than to make it go away. It hurt even more to know that he couldn't. It never went away. Not truly.

Falkner nodded and pulled back. "Okay. I guess. I should...sleep."

"I'll take care of the arrangements. Just go get some sleep kid. That's all that will help right now."

Again, the boy nodded, getting to his feet on wobbly legs. He watched as the boy walked out of the room, and then turned his gaze back to the man who's soul had fled his body. And he cursed the disease that had ripped apart his family, and was now trying to rip apart another. He wouldn't let it happen. No matter what he had to do, he wouldn't let this disease claim as many lives as it once had.

-.-

Two days after the funeral, Falkner found himself standing beside Morty in front of the entirety of the Elite Four, gnawing on his lip as he tried to stay calm. He knew of them, knew that they were powerful and strong, but he had never met them despite his father being the Gym Leader. To him, they were still a legendary force, something he couldn't see himself ever being able to defeat. Which would explain the deep seated nerves that had him practically trembling.

Morty wasn't paying any attention to him, instead conversing with the other members casually across the large oak table. Falkner looked at them, mentally going through the facts about each one. Will was the Psychic user, his face hidden even now by a theatrical black mask, head cradled on his steepled fingers as he laughed at something Morty said. Beside him was Koga, silent as he leaned back in his chair, his stare intense as he looked down at the table. As if sensing him, the ninja trainer looked up and caught his eyes. Flinching, Falkner looked down at his hands, biting his lip harder.

He decided not to look around anymore.

The door on the other side of the room opened, and once again he jerked as the door slammed shut and all conversation ceased. There was a steady click of boots on the marble flooring, the scrape of a chair being pulled back, and then a soft groan as the person sat. A light touch on his arm made him look up directly across the table, settling on the Champion of the Pokémon league; Lance. His red hair was not in the slick spikes from the photos in magazines, but rather a messy disarray that hung around his shoulders. The casual appearance did nothing to sooth Falkner's pounding heart as he looked in the dark red eyes of the Champion.

"My deepest apologies for your loss, Falkner. It is not easy on any of us to see such a great leader pass, but for you especially it must be difficult. We all extend our apologies, and hope that the path forward is brighter for you. Perhaps it is a little soon to ask, but do you intend to take your father's place as the Gym Leader of Violet City?" Lance asked, his voice quiet and gentle.

"I...yes," Falkner said, glancing once more at his hands.

"Good. You will need to compete in one of the Leagues, and eventually face the Elite Four. It does not matter which 8 Gym Leaders you battle, or which Elite Four you challenge. They are of all equal strength. We leave that up to you, and hope to see you once you have completed your journey," Lance continued. "Now, there is other business we needed to discuss as well, I take it?"

"There is something I needed to bring to your attention," Morty said. "Falkner, if you could possibly wait in the hall?"

"No. Let him be," Will said, turning his eerie gaze onto the young trainer. "I think he needs to hear this."

Morty shifted in his seat uncomfortably, but nodded. "Alright. His father was...killed by a disease I know too well. It was the disease that wiped out my family and my village. Walker awakened from his coma briefly in the last day he was with us, and he spoke of a power to the North that was causing this disease. He warned that if we do not seek out this power and destroy it...the sickness will not stop as it did in Ecruteak."

"A troubling matter indeed," Lance murmured, gaze falling to the floor.

"To the North you say?" Karen asked. "Sinnoh is to the North. I can go there now and-"

"No," Morty interrupted. "Walker asked me to do it. I need...please. Let me go."

"With just one person searching, you won't be able to get much done," Koga said. "It would be best if we send a few people, more even."

"What if the source knows we are searching for it though?" Will asked. "If it knows people are seeking to destroy it, wouldn't it work all the faster to accomplish its goal?"

"You speak as if this disease is something of magic. You are jumping at shadows," Bruno murmured from the far end of the table, his hulking form barely fitting in his seat.

"Shadows? Bruno-sempai, have you ever seen a sickness wipe through an entire village as it did only a few years ago?" Morty asked softly. "My family was not jumping at shadows when they quarantined themselves off from the rest of the village. Even that did not stop it. This is no, natural sickness."

Karen made a soft noise, her expression troubled. "I think we should proceed cautiously. For now, let Morty go. We will have someone take his place temporarily at the gym, and if the issue escalates we'll send more people. I think it would be a good idea to contact the other Leagues, make sure they keep their eyes open."

Lance nodded his consent to the idea. "Morty, you have permission to go forward with this mission. Stay in touch with your findings."

Falkner squirmed uncomfortably as the talk continued around him, wondering what his father would think of all this, wishing he had left more for them to go on. He was terrified of what was to come. Why his father? Why not someone else who didn't matter? But those thoughts were selfish, and he knew it. Realizing that only made his stomach roll more, his throat burning from tears.

With a strangled noise he jolted from his seat and dashed from the room, racing down the hallway and around the corner before stopping, tears burning as his back hit the wall. Shoving his palms into his eyes as if that would stop the tears, he sat on the ground, trying to stop the pathetic hiccupping noises that escaped from his throat. So wrapped up in his whirling emotions, he was not aware of the soft steps moving down the hallway until a body slid down to sit next to him.

A slim arm wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him close. With a start, he realized the person holding him was none other than Karen, her gray eyes unreadable as her hand stroked down his back soothingly. When he had finally cried himself out, she stood and offered her hand. He took it tentatively.

"The last few days have been stressful. I'm sorry," she said. "Morty has mentioned that he would like to mentor you, and take you with him to Sinnoh. You can complete your challenge there."

Falkner nodded, unable to summon the ability to be angry that they had made so many decisions without his input. "Thank you. I'm sorry that I ran out like that. I don't know what came over me."

"Sometimes the past catches up with us, no matter how fast we run from it, or how long. It's only been a few days. It gets easier, I promise," she said, the barest twitch of a smile on her lips.

"I guess...I should go apologize to the others," Falkner said, face heating in embarrassment.

"That would probably be wise," she said.

Falkner gave her a quick smile and headed back to the room, head down as he took his seat beside Morty. Karen sat down across from him, giving him a supportive look as he glanced up. "I'm sorry. I had no intention of interrupting."

"It's okay. No need to apologize," Lance said. "We wish you luck, Falkner, Morty. Let us know if you need help."

They both nodded and stood together, offering a quick bow before departing from the room.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I take a lot of liberties in this fic, as a warning. Because I am so involved with this story, and am trying to portray it in a more mature and fantasy-like setting, I go into mythology and ancient history surrounding the founding of the different region leagues as the story progresses. If anything stands out as inconsistent or just doesn't make sense, please let me know. Otherwise, enjoy!

"Alright Falkner. Are you sure you have everything?" Morty asked for the umpteenth time that morning.

It was three days after their meeting with the Elite Four, and during that time, Falkner had been packing his things to begin his Pokemon challenge. Morty had gone back to Ecruteak to take care of his own business and come back that morning to take him to Olivine so that they could take the S.S. Anne to the Sinnoh region.

"Yes, I have everything," Falkner said, looking up at the blond as he adjusted the belt that held his Pokemon around his waist. "We can go now."

"Okay, just so you know-"

"I have to fight all the trainers on my own, and if I lose I use my own money to pay, and if I run out of potions, tough luck because you aren't buying me any. Yeah, I know," Falkner said. He allowed himself a smile when Morty threw his head back and laughed. The smile quickly turned to a scowl when the older ruffled his hair.

"Alright then. Let's go!"

He grabbed Falkner's arm and tugged him along at a brisk pace, scarf flowing out behind him and right into the younger's face. Sputtering, Falkner shoved him away, flushing when Morty laughed once more, not sure if he was enjoying being the brunt of all the man's jokes. He trailed after the leader, not really paying attention to him as he prattled on about Ecruteak. It wasn't until the man stopped walking and he ran into him that he snapped out of his thoughts, flushing under Morty's slightly offended stare.

"You weren't listening to a word I said, were you?" Morty asked.

Mortified, Falkner just nodded. "I'm sorry."

The Ghost Trainer shrugged. "Don't worry about it. So what Pokemon do you have?"

"Eh, just a Pidgey and a Pidgeotto. Not a lot to train with..." Falkner mumbled. "I never really trained before."

Morty's eyes narrowed. "That's not all you have. You grabbed your father's Pokemon didn't you?"

Falkner nodded. "But he's too strong. He won't listen to me yet."

"Maybe you should just let him out of his ball, give him a good stretch," Morty said.

"I can't! What if he leaves me?"

Morty tilted his head to the side. "Just because you can't control him yet doesn't mean he'll up and run away."

"But what if he does!"

"You know what, fine. Keep him cooped up, but you're letting him out before we get on the S.S. Anne, alright? You can't keep him in there forever, he'll get grumpy, and then when you finally let him out he'll hate you," Morty said with a knowing nod.

Falkner bit his lip but nodded. Morty resumed his brisk pace once more, leading the younger through a twisting path among the trees. A sudden cry came from behind a tree, and the young reeled back, startled by the two small girls that jumped out in front of them. They were identical; even their clothes matched, bright pink shirts coupled with blue shorts.

"My name's Til!" said the first.

"And I'm Tori!" the other shouted.

"And we're going to take you down!" they finished together.

Falkner stared, puzzled at their behavior. Were they really Pokemon trainers? They looked so young. "I...um..."

"A double battle then?" Morty said. "We accept your challenge!"

"Morty, I really don't think-"

"You better not underestimate us!" Til interrupted.

"Or you'll end up losing! Go, Marill!"

"Go Mareep!"

"I chose you Gastly!" Morty tossed the pokeball into the air, releasing the puff of purple gas. The leader turned and stared pointedly at him, gesturing towards the three Pokéballs attached to Falkner's hip.

"Erm, go Pidgey." Falkner let the ball drop to the ground, releasing his disgruntled Pidgey to Morty's impatient sigh.

"You'll have to excuse him, he's new at this," Morty said to the wide eyed stares of Til and Tori. Falkner wanted to protest, but realized he had no real excuse or counter argument to defend himself with. The twins glanced at one another and shrugged.

"Marill, hit Pidgey with a Tackle!"

The blue mouse charged forward and Falkner felt his throat clench. "Pidgey, use Quick Attack?"

Morty crooked an eyebrow at Falkner's hesitant tone of voice, but Pidgey didn't hesitate, blurring out of the way of Marill's attack and giving it a hard shove, knocking it to the ground before dancing back on her claws.

"Gastly, use Night Shade on Mareep!"

The ghost Pokemon twirled in the air and for a moment, the air shimmered with a blue light, distorting the area around the small electric Pokemon. Half a second later, the Mareep teetered back and forth, obviously on its last legs.

"Mareep, Thundershock Pidgey!"

Before Falkner could call out a counter command, the highly effective bolt hit Pidgey, knocking her over. She started to get back up but then collapsed, unable to continue. Heart pounding, Falkner quickly called her back in and sent out Pidgeotto.

"Use Twister on Mareep!" he shouted, his voice cracking a little at the end.

Morty pinched the bridge of his nose. At least it was more confident than his last command. He glanced back up to see that one of the twins had to recall her fainted Mareep, and decided that he should take out the Marill before it could do anymore damage.

"Gastly, use Lick."

The ball of gas darted forward so it was right in front of the blue mouse. With a chilling noise, it stuck its oversized tongue out and licked up Marill's face, causing the small mouse Pokémon to shudder and then fall over, unable to fight. The twins squealed in anger as they withdrew Marill. Morty only chuckled.

"Thank you. No need to pay us," Morty said. "It was more of a trial battle for Falkner here."

"No, no, you won," Til sighed, sulking forward and putting a grand total of 100 Munny into the leader's hand.

"It was a good battle," Morty said, passing fifty to Falkner.

The twins nodded and departed, disappearing among the trees. Morty started on his way but turned when he saw Falkner wasn't following, surprised to see the boy kneeling on the ground stroking his fainted Pidgey's head. Silently, he watched Falkner pull out a Revive and spray it on the small Pokemon, a little surprised that the boy seemed to care so much. From the way he had battled, he had figured Falkner didn't have a bond with his Pokemon, but it seemed that they did.

Falkner recalled both of his Pokémon and hurried to catch up, head down as usual.

"Hey, what's wrong? You won your first battle," Morty said, nudging him in the side.

"Yeah, I did," Falkner said, giving him a strained smile.

Morty wanted to press him, but if he hadn't answered the first time, perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to push it. So instead he began to hum, hands in his pockets as they neared Ecruteak.

"I don't like seeing any of them hurt," Falkner said, so quiet that Morty didn't know if he had heard him the first time.

Glancing down out of the corner of his eye, he said, "Hm?"

"I just get sad when one of my Pokemon faints, because I don't want them to get hurt because I'm an incompetent trainer," Falkner continued in a louder voice.

"Hey now," Morty said. "Don't talk like that. Just because you're inexperienced doesn't mean you're incompetent. You'll get stronger. My Pokemon fainted plenty of times when I first started out, so don't get too worked up, alright?"

"When did you start? Training I mean?"

Morty frowned, leaving Falkner to believe he had asked something stupid or unwanted. "I was nine."

"That's early," Falkner said. "Why so young? Did you really want to be Gym Leader?"

"I had to," Morty said, refusing to look at him. "We're almost at Ecruteak, so let's get your Pokemon healed up, okay?"

Falkner winced but nodded, realizing that he had indeed asked something unwanted. "I didn't mean to pry."

Morty looked down at him to give him a winning smile. "No worries. I also need to stop home to pick something up, so just wait at the Pokemon Center for me. I won't be very long."

Falkner took his Pokemon like Morty suggested, smiling at Nurse Joy when she returned the two Pokéballs to him. Feeling nervous, Falkner emerged outside the large building, glancing around for Morty's familiar figure. He saw the older come out from a large mansion near the north end of town, something shining in his hand as he walked towards the bird trainer. Smiling, he grabbed Falkner's wrist and shoved the object into his open palm.

Curious, he looked down to see a thin silver chain with an unfamiliar crest hanging on it. "What is it?"

"It was my brother's. It's our old family seal. I want you to have it, as a good luck charm, so you'll stop being so timid," Morty said firmly. "Now, are you ready to go? We should reach Olivine by the end of the day if we're lucky."

"I can't have this," Falkner said, eyes wide as he tried to hand it back.

"No, no. No give backs. Put it on," Morty said. "Or I'll cry."

"Wha-" Falkner scrambled to loop the chain over his head, expression mortified at the thought of the larger man crying in front of him, because of something he did. His horror turned to humiliation when Morty laughed, revealing that he was just joking.

"Stop with the sullen expression. I feel like I'm kicking an innocent Growlithe whenever you do that. Well no, a Growlithe would bite me. You don't have any bite, let alone a bark," Morty said.

"Hey! I'm not that shy! Just because you have fun humiliating people doesn't mean I do! Why don't you think about someone else for once," Falkner said.

"Oh hey, maybe you are a Growlithe. Sheesh." Morty started to move past him and then paused, leaning down so his mouth was level with the younger's ear. "And I do think about you, too. I wouldn't have given this to you if I didn't." His hand moved around to tap the crest that now rested on Falkner's chest.

Stunned, Falkner turned and watched the man walk towards the exit. After a moment, he hurried to catch up.

-.-

Falkner pushed his hair out of his eyes as the wind tossed it about. They were about a half mile outside of Olivine, and he had to stay true to his word and release Pidgeot. Gnawing his lip, he stared down at the Pokéball. Thoughts of the Pidgeot flying off and refusing to come back plagued his mind, but Morty's gentle touch on his elbow renewed his strength.

"I'm right here, nothing bad's going to happen," Morty said. "Would it help if you released the others? Or I can call out Gengar."

"Um, Gengar. Maybe if he has company that's...not so weak. He never really liked me," Falkner said quietly.

"Oh, so that's why you're so scared," Morty said with a smirk.

"I'm not scared! Just...a little nervous, okay?"

Morty just chuckled and sent out his Gengar. The Pokémon bounced happily along in the field and then, with a deep breath, Falkner launched the ball into the air, sending the Pidgeot high into the air. It was then that Morty saw what Falkner meant when he said the large bird didn't like him. With a screech, the Pidgeot dove towards the teen.

The young trainer flinched away as it swooped over him, talons cutting at his shoulder before it arched back up and wheeled for a return hit. Morty grabbed the Pokéball from Falkner's trembling hand, recalling the raging Pokémon before it could attack again. That taken care of, he turned towards Falkner, surprised by how much the wound was bleeding.

"Sweet Moltres, I should've listened to you. Are you alright?" Morty dug around in his pack to find a roll of bandages and some disinfectant, urging the teen to sit as he began to doctor the wound as best he could. "We'll have to take you somewhere to get this stitched up, but I'll do what I can for now."

Falkner nodded numbly, eyes rooted to the ground. He bit his lip, refusing to cry out as Morty bound it up. "He hates me. I didn't do enough for my father. He knows its all my fault."

"Falkner, you're wrong, but we are not having that conversation right now because you need to be taken care of. C'mon Gengar."

-.-

Falkner stared into the mirror at the ugly stitches that held his shoulder together. The nurse had offered something to speed up the healing process and to minimize the scarring, but he had turned her down. He wanted to always remember that moment. He didn't ever want to feel that weak, that foolish, ever again.

The floor rolled as the ship hit a big wave, and with a hiss, Falkner knocked against the bathroom door.

"Falkner, are you okay?" Morty called.

"Yeah."

The teen readjusted his blue shirt, wincing as it rubbed against his sensitive skin. He had refused pain killers as well. This was his burden to bare, and his alone. When he emerged from the bathroom and into their small quarters, he avoided Morty's gaze.

"I'm sorry that I've been such a bother. I should've guessed-"

"You don't need to apologize. Why don't you get some rest?" Morty's soft voice soothed Falkner's frazzled nerves, and didn't ask for any excuses. Unable to argue, Falkner nodded and moved over to the bed, lying down on his back as Morty took his turn in the bathroom. He didn't doubt for a moment that if Morty hadn't been there, he would've died. Sure, the first cut was shallow; it was a warning. Pidgeot would've come back and destroyed him, and Falkner knew he would've let him because he wouldn't resist something he deserved.

But his body was tired of thinking, and with a sigh, he was tugged down into the realm of sleep.

Toweling off his messy blond locks, Morty emerged from the bathroom, frowning a little when he saw that Falkner was already asleep. His frown turned to a smile, however, when he saw the boy's hand resting on his chest, wrapped tight around the charm on the necklace. He had felt wary giving the younger the necklace, but he had come into his own confidence years ago. The charm had helped him, and while Falkner didn't have quite the same connection to it that he had, he could already tell it was making him feel better. That was enough for him to know that he had made the right choice.

-.-

"Alright, we've got a bit of a problem," Morty said.

Falkner looked up to see the leader sitting on the bed, laptop in hand. "What is it?" he asked as he finished tugging a new shirt over his head, ignoring the twinge in his shoulder.

"You only have Flying type Pokémon. Our first Gym Leader's name is Roark, and he's a Rock type user," he said with a frown. "But he's only been a Gym Leader for awhile so he'll be easy to take down."

"..."

"...That came out wrong. I don't mean all Gym Leaders are weak when they start out. It's just that they tend to be nervous at first and you can take advantage of...you know what? I'm just going to stop talking now."

Falkner laughed a little. "I guess it makes sense. I know I'll be really nervous. Were you?"

Morty looked up, head tilted to the side. "I guess I was. I don't really remember. I didn't know how to check my power for awhile. I think I was a little too enthusiastic with my duty."

"Oh. So what can I do? I'm training to be a Flying type Gym Leader so it's not like I can just go pick up a Water type or something. That defeats the purpose," Falkner said. "I mean the whole point of specializing in one Pokemon is so you can overcome disadvantages right?"

Morty stared at him, breaking into a wide grin. "Exactly. I could probably leave you alone to do all this yourself."

Falkner paled. "You wouldn't really do that would you? I mean...I don't want to be a bother or hold you back or anything but I don't really know if I can do this on my own yet."

"Hey, I never said that. I'm your mentor, Falkner. I'm not going to just up and ditch you in an area you've never been to before." Morty closed his laptop. "Do you even know how to take a joke?"

"Uh, no?" Falkner shrugged. "I don't know. I never really socialized much."

Instead of the usual expression of shock and exclamations of surprise, Morty merely leaned back, a look of contemplation on his face. That worried him though. Odd reactions didn't fit into his plan. Then again, running off to a new region to challenge Gym Leaders and destroy the potential creator of a disease didn't fit into his plan either.

"I didn't really either," Morty said. "Socializing really wasn't my thing for awhile. Circumstances made it so I had to."

The man's light purple eyes were unfocused and he fiddled with the edges of his tattered scarf. Falkner noticed a similar charm stitched into the deep purple fabric and intrigued, he moved closer, surprised to see that it was an exact match to the one that hung around his neck.

"What circumstances?" Falkner asked quietly.

"Well, when your entire village is falling down around your head, you have to do something. And that something usually involves talking to people." Morty's tone was still detached, and for once he didn't look at the younger.

"It...killed your whole family, didn't it?" Falkner murmured, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah."

"How old are you anyway?"

"Eighteen."

Falkner's eyes widened. "You're only one year older than me?"

Morty cocked his head to the side. "Yeah. You didn't know that?"

"You just seemed older, I suppose," Falkner said. "Or maybe I'm just immature."

"Probably both," Morty said to Falkner's offended look. "Hey, I don't sugar coat the truth."

"Apparently."

Morty took Falkner by surprise then, lunging across the bed to tackle the younger in a hug. "It's nothing that's your fault. I just grew up too fast really."

"Morty...my shoulder!" Falkner gasped out.

"Oh right!" Morty scrambled back. "Sorry. You'll find a get a bit affectionate sometimes."

"Great." The sarcasm laced in Falkner's voice was thick, but Morty just smiled, a drastic change from his earlier behavior.

"Back to work now." Morty opened up his laptop and patted the space beside him on the bed. "We need to start making a plan."

Falkner settled in, reading over the notes Morty had typed out. Geodude and Onix were Pokémon he was used to, but the last one was completely unfamiliar. "What's that?"

"A Cranidos. Nasty little thing that you'll have to take down as fast as you can. He's pure Rock type," Morty said. "There aren't a lot of pure Flying types in Sinnoh either by the way. You'll have to be okay with branching out a bit."

"Does a Flying Grass type exist," Falkner asked dryly as he continued to analyze the older's notes.

"Oh my, did you just make a joke?"

"Please don't hug me again." Falkner's voice was flat and he didn't even spare Morty a side glance.

Morty obeyed, instead ruffling his dark blue locks until they hung in his eyes. "You will just have to get used to my loving tendencies."

"Yeah, doubtful. Any Flying Water types or-"

"Yes! There is! I don't know where to catch one in Sinnoh though," Morty said. "We'd have to stop in Hoenn on our way up."

"I can't afford another ticket," Falkner said. "So I can't stop at Hoenn."

"The ship stops in Petalburg for a day. We can find one then, and be on the boat within the hour," Morty said with a shrug. "It's a Wingull, by the way. It'll be a perfect advantage. Good thinking."

"I hope I can train it time though."

"We can train together," Morty said with a nod.

Falkner looked at him for a moment, an odd look in his eyes. "You're way too strong. That's not training; just me losing."

"Not all my Pokémon are that powerful. They have varying strengths," he said. "Being your mentor means we have to train together."

Falkner nodded. "Okay. So what do we do now?"

Morty's lips broke into a wide grin. "Now, we pick someone to battle. This is a trainer ship, there will definitely be someone who wants to battle. I promise."

"Great."

"Stop ruining my fun! No sarcasm is allowed!"

-.-

Falkner stroked the ruffling feathers of his Pidgey, staring out at the sea. After seven battles, Morty had called a break, and Falkner was grateful. His Pidgey and Pidgeotto were not used to such rigorous battling, and from the way she was leaning against him, he could tell she was about to fall asleep.

"There you are," Morty said, stepping up beside him by the railing. "She tired?" He reached out to touch Pidgey's forehead, backing away when she tried to peck him.

"She doesn't like strangers," Falkner said. "And she's rather protective."

"Have you nicknamed her yet?"

"Not yet. Walker said I should wait for something important to happen, something that means a lot to me," Falkner said. "So, when are we going to start training again?"

"Give it a few hours. Don't want her to pass out," Morty said. "This your first time seeing the ocean?"

Falkner nodded. "I've never left Violet City before. It's amazing."

Morty didn't respond. Puzzled, Falkner looked up at him, wondering what had caused him to go silent. The older's scarf was flickering around in the wind, and the lilac colored eyes had once more gained their distant look. He followed the man's gaze but only saw an open sea and open sky. It was weird, how the older would just slip into moments of silence and drift off.

"Want to do something crazy?" Morty asked, still not looking at him.

"Um, depends on what it is I guess," Falkner said honestly.

"Do you trust me?"

"Not sure on that one."

Morty pulled out a Pokéball and released a strange Pokémon Falkner had never seen before. It had a wide purple balloon like shape with four large, yellow drifting arms jutting out from its sides. Near the top of its wide shape were two red eyes, and on the very top a tuft of white something grew.

"What is that?"

"This is a Drifblim. He's from the Sinnoh region, and is a Ghost-Flying type. I'm going to go on a little journey, and you're coming with me," Morty said.

"You're going to fly on that thing?" Falkner asked, tone disbelieving.

"Indeed. We're close enough to Hoenn that we should start seeing some Wingulls. We can catch one now if you want," Morty said, grinning once more.

"I...you want me to battle while flying on that thing?" Falkner asked, panic settling in to his stomach.

"He is not a thing. He's a Drifblim and he's very reliable," Morty said, a cute pout on his lips.

Cute? Did he just think cute? "No! No way!"

"Don't tell me you're afraid of heights. You're a Flying Trainer."

Falkner just looked down at his Pidgey, refusing to meet his gaze. After a moment, Morty coughed.

"You didn't uh, deny it."

"No, I didn't."

For another moment, the only sound was the waves, the wind, and the sound of the engine chugging away beneath them.

"You're really afraid of heights, aren't you?" Morty asked, stepping towards him. He tugged at Falkner's arm, making him turn to face him even though he kept his head down. Pidgey cooed and hopped off the railing, flapping over to inspect her new Pokémon friend, completely ignorant of the tension in the air. Morty's hands moved to Falkner's arms, almost cradling him.

"Hey, c'mon now. Why are you afraid of heights?"

"I fell," Falkner mumbled. "Off Walker's Pidgeot. It's why he hates me."

Morty pulled him closer to rest his chin on the younger's head, arms slipping around the younger's waist. "How old were you?"

"9. After that, I lost interest in being a trainer," Falkner mumbled, squirming in the odd embrace.

"And now?"

"I don't have a choice, do I? Someone's got to be the Leader." Falkner pulled back. "The only reason I was able to fly to Ecruteak was because I was too scared about Walker to notice the heights." The younger looked down. "Promise you won't let me fall."

"Promise." Morty released his hold on the younger, back up towards Drifblim. He vaulted with surprising grace onto the top of the balloon like Pokémon, grinning down at Falkner.

Falkner bit his lip as the Drifblim rocked forward so that Morty could grab his hand and help him scramble up onto the large Pokémon. Undeterred, Pidgey followed, settling in Falkner's lap as Drifblim steadied himself once more, bumping against his hand until he recalled the small Pokeémon. Without warning, the Drifblim launched itself into the air, causing Falkner to cling to Morty's arm. It didn't exactly help that the Drifblim didn't feel at all solid. In fact, he felt like he was going to fall straight though. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see the rolling ocean beneath him, knowing it would spell out a hundred ways it could kill him.

"Er, if you keep your eyes closed, you won't be able to catch anything," Morty said.

"But I'm going to fall and die," Falkner said, feeling a bit like a petulant child, but far too past the point of caring.

"I won't let you fall," Morty said.

Falkner clenched his fists tight, nails biting into his skin as Morty pulled his arm away. The arm slipped around his waist moved to tug him closer.

"Hurry up and open your eyes. We're coming up on a flock of Wingulls," Morty said, shaking the younger a bit.

Falkner let his left eye peek open, trying not to look down. Ahead of theme were six or seven Wingulls, heading directly towards them. "What do I do?"

Morty stared down at his panicked expression, not quite sure how to deal with the younger's terror.

"Call your Pidgey out. Then weaken the Wingull and capture it," he said calmly.

Eyes still barely open squeezed shut as Falkner grabbed the Pokéball with a trembling hand. With an odd, strangled noise, he launched it into the air, risking a quick look as his Pidgey emerged, flapping her wings eagerly as she saw the challenge. He realized then, that Morty had called out his Haunter, and he was drifting towards the flock. In seconds, he had herded off all but one of the Wingulls. They barely protested, willing to turn their course from one glance at the spooky apparition.

"Pidgey, tackle."

Though his voice trembled, she got the message, nailing the frail Wingull. It tumbled through the air, obviously dazed from the harsh blow.

"Okay, he's weaker than your Pidgey, so go ahead and catch him," Morty said.

Falkner tried to reach into his pocket to grab a Pokéball, but he was still shaking too hard to get a good grip on it. He started when Morty grabbed his hand, steadying it so he could throw it better. In one fluid motion, Morty drew his arm back and released the red orb. Falkner watched as it absorbed the small form of the Wingull in a ray of red light, starting as it zipped back into his and Morty's hand. It shook once, the red light in the middle flashing as it did so. A moment later, the light stopped and it grew still in his hand. Tentatively, he lowed his arm, staring at it as though it would disappear.

"You can stop looking," Morty said. "It's not going to explode on you or anything."

"How do you know?" Falkner accused, even as he stuffed it away.

His Pidgey lighted on his shoulder and began to preen his hair, cooing deep in her throat. Morty untangled their hands, waving at his Haunter until he was drifting along beside them. Falkner could already see the large cruise ship.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Morty asked, elbowing Falkner lightly.

The bird trainer flailed as he was thrown off balance, and his Pidgey chirped indignantly as she was forced off his shoulder. Morty's quick grip on his arm stopped him from tumbling off, but that moment of sheer terror was enough for his shaking to set in once more.

"Er, sorry about that," Morty said, sliding an arm over the smaller's shoulder. "Won't happen again."

"It's a-alright," Falkner said, wishing he could be the brave one. No such luck.

Falkner didn't bother saying anything else, contenting himself to squeezing his eyes shut so he wouldn't have to look down. However, that only made the landing on the boat's deck feel all the more rough, and a rather unmanly squeak made its way past his lips. Morty's laugh made him open his eyes once more, just in time to see the Ghost Trainer leap off. He turned to look at Falkner expectantly, right eyebrow crooked up.

"I'll catch you if you jump," Morty said.

"No! I can do it!" Falkner was sure his voice would sound more confident if it wasn't shaking so bad.

He shifted down, and then jumped, unable to properly brace himself. The end result was him tumbling onto the hard deck in a graceful flailing of limbs, much to Morty's amusement. He tried to stifle his laughter as he helped the bird trainer up, but from Falkner's expression, it was a little too late.

"So what now?" Falkner asked, deciding that discussing his mishap would not make him feel any better.

"We rest up," Morty said. "Petalburg has some good trainers so we can do more training when we land tomorrow. You've done a lot today."

He recalled the Drifblim, but let the Haunter remain, a small smile on his lips as the ghost twirled around him. The Pidgey cooed as she flapped after him, antagonizing him until the ghost began to chase her around the deck.

"Can we leave them while we go eat?" Falkner asked. "They look like they're having fun."

"I suppose," Morty said, moving past him. "We'll be back soon anyways."

Falkner glanced back one more time to watch his Pidgey tease Haunter, and then raced after Morty.

-.-

"Okay, just open it. There's no reason to be afraid," Morty said.

Falkner was seriously regretting eating anything that morning for breakfast. His nerves had sent his stomach rolling in a flutter of Butterfree, brought on by how he was sure the Wingull would hate him and try to attack. He sat on the floor with Morty directly across from him. Morty's presence usually soothed him, but now, he didn't think it was possible.

"Just do it."

Falkner took a deep breath, then pressed the button on the ball as he let it roll out of his hand. He had healed the Wingull the night before, so when he emerged it was in a flurry of energy and feathers. The small bird Pokémon tilted his head to the side. It gave a soft coo and hopped towards him, oblivious to the way Falkner cowered away.

He rested his beak on Falkner's knee, and the trainer could feel the bird's silent coo deep in his throat. Part of his mind screamed that it was a predatory noise, but the rational part, small as it was, ordered him to stop being stupid. Reaching a hand out, he brushed the soft white feathers on his head. His touch grew more firm, and soon he was petting the small Pokémon with a smile, little words slipping out quietly as he complimented him.

"Not so bad, is it?" Morty asked.

Falkner shook his head. "I just figured they could sense my incompetence."

Morty snorted. "They can. It's just you aren't incompetent. Just shy, and maybe a little afraid." The leader stood up and dusted himself off. "Alright. Time to start training."

Falkner helped Wingull up onto his shoulder, stifling his complaints. They would be docking in a few hours, and a practice run before they plunged into unfamiliar territory would be helpful.

 


	3. Chapter 3

They would have a night at Petalburg according the captain, so Morty had decided they could cut through Petalburg Woods and stay the night in Rustburo. He had hinted at perhaps having Falkner challenge the Gym Leader to perhaps get a feel for fighting a Rock-Type Trainer, but the bird Trainer wasn't quite sure how he felt about that yet.

Falkner paused as he began to step into the grass, watching a small bird flutter down in front of him. "What is it?"

The Pokémon hopped towards them, his head cocked to the side. His wings were a deep blue, and he was more delicate looking then even a Pidgey or a Wingull.

"A Tailow I think. And a curious one at that," Morty said, kneeling and holding his hand out.

Falkner gaped at the Gym Leader's brazen action, but then again, the Tailow had already displayed a very docile demeanor. After a moment of nudging Morty's hand, he moved to hop towards Falkner, chirping. Grinning at the younger's panicked expression, Morty sat down on the grass and leaned back, confident that Falkner could handle himself. The bird Trainer did not share the sentiment.

"Morty?" His voice was shrill as the Tailow's wings fluttered and he began to propel himself upwards. If he hadn't been so terrified, the look of raw concentration on the petite Pokémon's face would've been adorable as it struggled up on to his shoulder. "What's he doing?"

"It seems to have adopted you," Morty said, his grin widening.

"What do I do now?" Falkner asked as the small Pokémon nuzzled his neck, apparently unaware of his nervousness.

"What seems right?"

He wanted to roll his eyes, but instead he just stared at Morty who was still wearing that obnoxiously smug grin. The Tailow chirped, as if he wanted an answer as well.

"I guess I'll just um...leave him," Falkner said. "Should we keep going then?"

Morty got to his feet. "Off we go. If he leaves, I mean, we let him go but if he stays..." The leader didn't finish his sentence, instead heading off to the Petalburg Woods.

They spent a good hour training there with both his Pidgey and his Wingull, and through it all, the Tailow never budged, seemingly determined to stay. At one point he left, only to return as they exited the wood, greeting Falkner with a chirp before he began to preen the trainer's blue hair. There were few trainers along the road, but upon reaching the bridge over the river separating them from Rustburo, Morty pulled him down to sit.

"Let's take a break," he said, pulling off his shoes and socks and setting them on the bridge. He rolled his pant legs up and let his toes drift through the water. "Can't have all work and no play."

"I guess," Falkner said beside him.

Tailow finally hopped down and flew away, though he guessed the bird would return before they even thought of leaving. For awhile, they sat beside each other in silence, Morty's toes skimming over the water and enticing the curious Lotad up to the surface.

"Are Ghost Pokémon difficult to train?" Falkner asked.

"In a way, yeah. Next to Dragon Pokémon, they're the most feral in the wild, and that's why you can only find them in specific places," Morty said. "A long time ago, I think it was the second generation of the Indigo League, charmed holy areas where Ghost Pokémon tended to congregate. This stopped them from being able to prey on humans and other Pokémon in an uncontrolled environment."

"What do you mean?" Falkner asked. "They just eat dreams right? That's not so bad."

"It's not that simple," Morty said. "When they're feral, they don't differentiate between dreams and souls. That's one of the things I had to teach my Pokémon when I was raising them, some of the new ones I mean. The others in my possession...they came to me tamed."

"So...they kill people if they're feral?" Falkner asked, face paling.

"Usually on accident, but once they get the taste for it, they begin to do it more and more, at least according to records. There have only been a few reports of a Haunter sucking out the soul of a human in the last fifty years," Morty said. "And those are usually Pokémon that got re-released without going through the officials, or got past the barrier."

"Wait, so they can get past the barrier? Then why bother making them?" Falkner glanced around, half expecting a feral Haunter to spring out of the water and attack him.

"They mostly hold, but you can't guarantee it a hundred percent. It's better than what it was before," Morty said. "Back before the Leagues formed, Ghost Pokémon were pretty much rampant, in fact most Pokémon were. I don't know the details, you'd have to look them up in Canalave's library. What I know is mostly related to Ghost history."

Falkner looked down into the water, watching the harmless Lotad float by, Goldeen swimming through the river deeper down. "I guess I didn't think Pokémon could be so cruel."

"They're still animals at the core," Morty said. "We just happened to train them, domesticate them. For the most part anyways. Ghost Pokémon aren't very popular because it takes such careful monitoring to bring them up right. Most people don't think it's worth it."

"I guess that's why Pidgeot doesn't like me. He's just...a monster deep down," Falkner muttered.

"Or maybe he's grieving too."

Falkner bit his lip but didn't reply.

"How are you feeling, Falkner? Really. I've been rather single-minded lately and haven't paid enough attention," Morty said.

"Alright." Falkner watched the ripples spread out through the water. "I miss home. I miss my...I miss Walker."

Morty sighed, splashing the water extra hard with his next kick. "It's just me. You can call him your father, because that's what he is first and foremost. The whole 'you gotta call a gym leader by his name' is crap. He  _is_  family after all."

"Was." Falkner drew his legs up to rest his chin on his knees.

Morty snorted. "Oh, since he's dead, he doesn't count as family anymore? That's it?"

"No!" Falkner protested, growing frustrated when he saw the Ghost Trainer wearing his all too familiar grin. "Would you stop? Honestly!" The blue-haired teen got to his feet, delighting in how his words had finally wiped the other's insufferable smirk away. "It's like a game to you, isn't it? Manipulating the way I think until you get the response you want. I'm so sick of it."

"Hey now. Calm down Falkner, it's not like that," Morty said.

"Then what's it like? What are you trying to do to me?"

Morty got to his feet, shaking the water off. "I'm trying to teach you. I've got a lot of experience and I can help you if you're willing to listen."

"You're not me!"

"True but we're a lot alike. Stop being a brat. I had no one to help me, so you better be thankful," Morty said, stepping into Falkner's space and staring down at him.

"Thank you." The words were full of hate as they hissed out between Falkner's teeth.

-.-

Falkner still wasn't talking to him by the time they reached Rustboro, so he sent the younger off to train more while he met with Roxanne. The Tailow had made angry chirps at him as if he could sense their fight, before fluttering off after Falkner. Shaking his head, he walked into the gym.

"Well you've certainly grown," Roxanne commented, heading across the battle arena to greet him.

She was clothed in an all black dress, complimented, Morty noted, with bright pink tights that threatened to blind him. "Ah, but your bad taste in clothes hasn't changed a bit."

Roxanne pulled her hair down and shook it out, slipping the hair ties around her wrists. She didn't dignify his words with a response. "I was looking forward to a battle with your student. Where is he?"

"I gave him time to clear his head. He's rather upset with me right now, and he'd only end up losing," Morty said.

"Oh? What did you do?"

Morty wished Roxanne wasn't so good at reading him, but she was the first leader he had challenged, and was the closet thing he had had to a mentor. "I lost my temper and...said some things I shouldn't have. He needed to hear it, but I didn't say it in the right way."

"I have tea in the back. Let's have a drink and you can tell me more," Roxanne said, looping her arm through his and leading him down the length of the room and through the door.

The room was small, a low sitting table to the right and a small kitchenette to the left. The tea was already set and Roxanne nodded for him to take a seat. For awhile, they just sipped at their tea, comfortable small talk flitting between them as they spoke. But then, Roxanne set her cup down and leaned across the table, her eyes telling him things were about to get serious.

"So tell me about this boy. Why have you taken him under your wing?"

"The disease that took my family took his father. We have a lead on where it's coming from, so while we train, I'll be investigating," Morty said.

"Ah. Seems you're getting attached," Roxanne said. "But taking him into a dangerous situation like that might not be a good idea."

"We aren't going to do anything dangerous," Morty said. "We aren't seeking the guy out, just finding where he is."

"Will you be able to restrain yourself once you find him?"

"We aren't here to talk about me," Morty said.

"Ah, of course not. Well, what did you say to him?"

"He's convinced I'm trying to manipulate the way he thinks," Morty said. "And then I told him he should be thankful that there's someone around to teach him."

"So basically, he thinks you betrayed him. Then you said he should be thankful that you did so. You are off to a wonderful start," Roxanne said, then leaned back and shook her head.

"Well when you say it like that-"

"That's what you did," Roxanne said. "So you should probably go find him and apologize."

"I hate when you're right," Morty said. "I'll go track him down, and we'll have that battle."

"Roxanne! You have to come quick!" The knocking on her door was frantic and Roxanne got to her feet, exchanging a quick glance with Morty.

"Does your apprentice have a habit of getting trouble?"

"Uh-"

"You go on ahead and see what's wrong, I'll follow."

-.-

Falkner contemplated whether or not to enter the cave. There were certainly going to be a lot of Rock-type Pokémon, but both his Pidgey and Wingull were looking rather tired, and his Tailow still refused to do any actual work. Sighing, he plopped down in the grass and leaned against the rock wall. Tailow chirped and fluttered down onto his lap, nudging his hand until he finally began scratching his head.

He was glad Morty had sent him off. Dealing with the leader wasn't something on his list of things to do. Why should he be thankful? All the Ghost Trainer was doing was manipulating him, brainwashing him while he was in a, though he loathed to admit it, vulnerable state. What Morty's motivation was, that was the real question. The fact that he didn't have an answer made him uncomfortable.

"Stop!"

Chirping, Tailow took to the air as a Trainer ran towards them, a wolf-like Pokémon by his side. Falkner got to his feet without thinking, standing in front of the cave's entrance to block the man's path. Surprisingly, he stopped, looking flustered. He was wearing a blue bandana, his baggy pants of a matching color, an odd circle shape centered on the fabric. Along the seams of his pants where more white circles, and his shirt was striped with thick bands of black and white.

"You can move, or I'll move you," he said.

Another man ran up behind him, his green suit torn and covered in dirt. "Stop him! He stole something from me."

The trainer whirled, decking the man in the face and knocking him to the ground. "Back off old man." He turned back to Falkner, who was struggling to hold his ground and not look away. "Move."

"No! Go Pidgey!"

"Fine, if that's how you want it," the man said. "Poochyena! Tackle!"

Pidgey, barely emerged from her ball, was blind sided by the attack. Falkner grit his teeth, ignoring the fear in his gut. "Pidgey, use Gust!"

Pidgey fluttered into the air and obeyed, knocking the Poochyena off its feet. The retaliation was brutal though, and since the Pidgey was already worn down from the training, she was unable to get back up. Falkner quickly returned her to her ball, then sent his Wingull out.

"Poochyena! Howl, then follow it up with a Tackle!" A chilling wolf cry pierced the air before the Poochyena rushed forwards, barreling into the Wingull and causing him to spiral through the air.

"Wingull!" Falkner barely managed to catch the small Pokémon, swallowing thickly as the man and his Pokémon advanced, a wicked grin on his face.

"Haunter, use Dark Pulse!"

A wave of rippling darkness stretched across the grass, knocking the Poochyena over and wiping it out. Falkner held Wingull closer as Morty knocked the man aside, his Haunter trapping the man from running away on the other side. Recalling the Wingull, Falkner got back to his feet.

"Morty-"

"I believe you stole something from that man," Morty said, advancing on the man. "And you attacked my student. I suggest you return the goods now."

"Alright, alright!" the man said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small haphazardly wrapped parcel.

"I believe we earned that," a new, deep voice said. "Morty."

Falkner craned his neck to peek around Morty's figure to see a tall man dressed from head to toe in black, the only color being his own blue bandana and a small white clasp holding his jacket together. An even larger wolf Pokémon stood by his side, growling low in his throat.

"I don't think you did," Morty said. "Since when did you get out of prison, Archie?"

"I had some help, I'll give credit where credit is due," the newcomer said. "Look at you though, all grown up in my absence it seems."

"Return the parcel now," Morty ordered, but the man holding the package just stepped back, a grin on his face as he stood behind Archie. "Have it your way. Haunter, Dark Pulse."

The Haunter moved to obey, but the Pokémon lurched forward, jaws ripping into the Ghost Pokémon and forcing it to dissolve, slipping into the air and vanishing as it fainted.

Morty's jaw tightened and he drew another Pokeball. "I see we aren't playing by the rules."

"Team Aqua doesn't believe in playing by the rules," Archie said. "You know better, Mightyena, use Crunch."

The Pokémon lunged forward as Morty released his Gengar. The attack was devastating, the Gengar falling to one knee before blasting the Pokémon with a Thunderbolt. Before the battle could continue, the ground began to rumble, cracks in the earth opening up and spewing hot lava up to cover the Mightyena. With a cry, it fell, and all four trainers turned to see Roxanne, hand on her hip and a Golem at her side.

"Leave, Archie. Return the goods to the researcher, and leave," she said. "I will call the authorities on you."

Archie recalled the Mightyena, then turned to his sidekick. Before anyone could react, the younger had pulled out a smoke bomb and released it. By the time they could all see once more, the pair was gone, and with them, the researcher's goods.

"Marcel, I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner," Roxanne said. "Archie has gotten stronger."

The researcher got to his feet, dusting himself off as best he could. "It's alright. That boy there tried to stop them, and he was able to stall them before you got here."

Roxanne looked up at him, and Falkner shrunk back from her hard gaze. "This is your apprentice, Morty? A little small but if he was able to stand up to Team Aqua, even for awhile, then you've been training him well."

"How did Archie get out of prison?" Morty asked, grabbing Falkner's wrist and tugging him forward.

"Someone broke him out, though we have yet to learn the identity of the man," Roxanne sighed. "If I had known they were around here, I would've warned you. I'll be notifying the correct authorities to take care of everything."

"He's gotten stronger to take out my Haunter in one hit," Morty said, and for once, Falkner could hear real fear in the older's voice. "Let's get you back to a PokéCenter. I'm sure your Pokémon need it."

"Um...yeah," Falkner said, ducking his head as he followed after the other three.

Morty paused and turned to face him, letting the other two continue on their way. When Falkner still didn't look up at him, he put his hands on the younger's shoulders, giving him a little shake. "Falkner..."

"I'm sorry," Falkner said. "For saying those things to you. Thanks for...saving me anyways."

"You think I'd let you get hurt just because of one little fight?" Morty ran one hand through his hair. "Look, Falkner, I'm sorry for saying the things I said too. Can we just forgive each other?"

Falkner nodded.

"I gave that necklace to you for a reason," Morty said, tugging at the chain. "It's for good luck, yeah, but it's because I care about you too, and I want you to do well. Standing up to that guy instead of letting him just push past you...that was brave. You did the right thing."

"But he beat me," Falkner said, meeting the older's purple eyes.

"Yeah, he did, but you tried," Morty said. "You'll get better. You already know how to look out for other people weaker than yourself, and that's something that took me awhile to learn."

"I...I'm sorry for not being good enough," Falkner said as he ducked his head once more. "I haven't been the nicest to you, and you're right. I should be glad someone's bothering to help me, and I shouldn't take that for granted. Thank you."

Morty tugged him forward in a hug, wrapping his arms around his slim waist and resting his chin on the mop of blue hair. "You idiot."

-.-

"Are you too tired for a battle?" Roxanne asked as they emerged from the PokéCenter. Marcel had returned to his work place to report the stolen goods, leaving the three trainers alone to discuss their initial business.

"No, I can do it," Falkner said.

Morty lightly prodded his side as they headed towards the Gym. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I'm fine," Falkner said. "I need more practice."

Roxanne crooked an eyebrow up. "You're a strong one. Most people would be terrified to have another go after an experience like that."

"I want to get stronger," Falkner said. "I have to."

"Well, you have guts, and that counts for something," Roxanne said, turning to flick him on the nose. "Well come on then."

When they entered the Gym, Morty headed off to lean against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. Falkner cast him a nervous glance then looked back to watch Roxanne cross the rest of the field and then turn to face him. She drew two Pokéballs but only threw one in the air, releasing a Geodude.

"Go, Wingull!"

Wingull was much more energized than what he had been earlier, which helped restore some of his confidence.

"Geodude, Rock Smash!"

The Geodude lunged forwards, blasting a rock towards the Wingull. Wingull tried to dodge but the blast was too much and she fell to the ground, stunned and stumbling.

"Wingull, use Water Gun!"

Despite his weakening strength, Wingull obeyed, hosing the Geodude down with a stream of water. Gaping, Falkner watched as the Geodude writhed and then lay still. Roxanne called the Pokémon back and then sent out another, a Nosepass that towered over his small Wingull.

"Nosepass, use Rock Tomb!"

"Wingull, move!"

The Wingull struggled into the air as four boulders fell down around him, one clipping his wing. But he kept moving, rearing back as he waited for the next command.

"Water Gun!"

"Rock Slide!"

The large boulders tumbled up and forwards, smashing into the smaller Pokémon even as his own attack landed on the Nosepass. It staggered for a moment but held its ground even as his Wingull fainted. Falkner recalled it quickly than sent out his Pidgeotto, knowing his Pidgey wouldn't be strong enough to take on the hulking Pokémon before him.

"Pidgeotto use Quick Attack, follow it up with a Gust!" he ordered, mind racing as he tried to think of how to win. It seemed pretty helpless.

The Nosepass barely flinched from the combined attack and at Roxanne's order, sent another clutch of small boulders at Pidgeotto. He rolled through the air to dodge and obeyed Falkner's command for another Quick Attack and Gust combination. They were relentless after that, and as time wore on, the Nosepass began to stagger more and more. Only a few of his attacks landed on the Pidgeotto, who was darting through the air as fast as possible to stay out of his way.

"Pidgeotto, now! Use Quick Attack!"

"Rock Slide!"

Pidgeotto narrowly dodged the attack before crashing into the Nosepass with enough force to knock him over, the resulting boom making the floor shake. He landed delicately a few feet away from the Rock Pokémon, and when it didn't stir, Roxanne called it back.

"Well, you held up fine. Don't think that plan would work every time though," Roxanne said. "But it's good as a last ditch effort."

Falkner called his Pidgeotto back and nodded his understanding. "I need to train my Wingull more."

"You learned though," Roxanne said. "The only advantage you have besides your water attacks is your speed. Use that."

"Thank you," Falkner said, ducking his head.

Roxanne moved across the large space the separated them, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "You're going to do just fine, Falkner. Especially with Morty as your teacher. Rock Pokémon are powerful, but you can always escape the ground."

Falkner looked up, wanting to ask what she meant, but she had already turned away to go speak with Morty. They exchanged a few quick words and she turned back to look at him.

"I'll see you again, I'm sure," she said. "Goodbye, Falkner. Don't be an idiot Morty," Roxanne said as Morty moved to grab Falkner's wrist, tugging him towards the door.

"Yeah, no promises!"

-.-

Later that night, Morty was leading them through Petalburg Woods once more, ignoring their initial plans to stay the night in Rustboro. The appearance of Team Aqua at a time like this was making him question things. Back when he had taken his own challenge, he had butt heads with Archie and the leader of Team Magma, Maxie, frequently, and not of his own choosing. He didn't, at the time, give a damn about the rest of the world and their plans of domination. He just wanted to get stronger, stronger so he could enact his revenge once he found who had made the disease.

It was pure chance, their meetings. Once, when he was on his way to Fallarbor, and another time just before his last Gym in Sootopolis. To his knowledge, both groups had finally been wiped out soon after he had defeated Maxie there, the Elite Four moving and crushing them without mercy. It wasn't often the Elite Four moved, but then the actions of the two groups had been entirely illegal, not the way Team Rocket worked. Oh no, Team Rocket skirted along the edge of illegal, never quite crossing the line unless they knew for sure no one was looking.

Either way, their re-appearance, and the new strength Archie had displayed, didn't bode well, and he didn't want to delay longer than needed in the Hoenn region. Getting mixed up in another League's affairs wasn't something he was interested in, not when he had his own apprentice to worry about.

"Morty?" Falkner asked as they emerged from the woods.

"Yeah?"

"That man...what do you think he's going to do with what he stole?"

Morty ruffled Falkner's hair. "Don't worry about it. I've dealt with them before, and they're no match for the Elite Four."

"You don't believe a word you're saying," Falkner said, the certainty in his voice surprising Morty.

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"You won't look me in the eye, and you always do when you're proving a point," Falkner said. "He beat your Haunter, and almost your Gengar. He's strong, right?"

"Yeah, stronger than the last time we met," Morty admitted. "But the Elite Four are strong, you know that. They don't use their full strength when taking on trainers or Gym Leaders looking for certification. They test you, and if you don't meet their standards, than they won't let you go on. But when it comes to matters like Team Aqua...they don't hold back." Morty walked towards their boat, flashing both of their tickets as they passed their guards and made their way up.

"Are they the same everywhere?" Falkner asked.

"No. Lance is a Dragon Master, you know that," Morty said. "But Steven is a Steel user. He...was a fierce opponent, even when he was checking his power."

"Is he nice?" Falkner asked, leaning against the railing.

"Yeah," Morty said with a frown. "Why?"

"I just thought the Champions were supposed to be serious and stern, but Lance was kind," Falkner said.

"They aren't bad people, Falkner. Just because someone has power doesn't mean they abuse it," Morty said. "You should know that."

"I do...I guess it's weird thinking of them as people," Falkner said.

"But I'm a person, and so are you. Most people look at us and see heroes," Morty said.

"Most trainers could beat me without breaking a sweat," Falkner said, voice dry. "I'm no hero."

"Give it some time."

-.-

Falkner twisted his way out of the dream, jolting out of sleep with a cry barely crushed in his throat. In his mind's eye, the Mightyena from before was lunging forward to tear his Pidgey to shreds, ripping her apart until she was unrecognizable, and when he had turned to look at Archie, he had only seen his father, Pidgeot looming beside him as he sneered down at him. The image refused to leave.

"Falkner, it's alright," a voice said as a cool hand pushed him back down.

The lamp beside them clicked on and Falkner sighed as the shadows were chased away. "I'm sorry Morty."

"Everyone gets bad dreams," Morty said, offering him a smile. "We can talk if you want, or I can just go back to sleep, up to you."

Falkner sat back up, mouth dry as he tried to think of what to say. Morty just brushed his blond hair out of his eyes and waited patiently as always. "I'll be fine. I'll just go for a walk. I'm too old for this."

"No one's too old to take some comfort," Morty said.

Falkner shook his head in disagreement even as he leaned forwards to press his forehead against Morty's shoulder, trying to dispel the images. They were persistent, but he wasn't going to tell Morty that. "It's fine now. I can sleep."

Morty gave a sigh that said he didn't believe him, but he left his bed regardless, lying down in his own without further argument. But sleep didn't come, instead avoiding him for the rest of the night.

-.-

Deep in Lavender Town, a beast stirred. It was barely anything; a twitch of his eyelids. But it was enough to send everyone running.

-.-

Lydia finished brushing her Meowth, giving him a soft kiss on his forehead before climbing into bed. Meowth hopped up and stretched over her legs and she reached over to turn off her lamp. The ground rocked suddenly, with such force that she toppled out of bed. The rumbling went on and on as the lights flickered and she screamed for her father to come help as the window shattered.

The wind howled and the lights flickered off completely. The ground went still and she clutched Meowth close to her chest, panting in fear as her eyes struggled to adjust to the total darkness. A chill settled over her, bone deep and she began to shake as she got to her feet. Meowth hissed and leapt out of her arms, bolting out of the room and leaving her standing alone in the darkness.

As her eyes began to adjust, she took a tentative step forward, moving out into the hallway.

"Mom? Dad?"

"Lydia! Run!" Her mother's scream echoed in her brain as she stared in horror at the sight before her.

A large Gengar was standing over her father in the hallway, its crimson eyes glowing so bright that they lit the whole corridor. His throat was cut out, his eyes wide and the same odd red as the Gengar's. The Gengar continued to drain his soul, its ghost like teeth split into an almost comical grin. Her mother jumped forward, tackling the Gengar with all her might, but the Pokémon only stumbled, then wrapped one of its claws around her torso and slammed her into the wall.

Lydia shrieked and ran the other way, towards the back door. Through her tears and the darkness, she could barely see the handle and when she flung the door open, her heart stopped. A thick purple mist covered the ground, red and white eyes peering out up at her, slowly taking the form of Gastly and Haunter alike.

Adrenaline pumped hot through her and she began to run, darting to the left and fleeing across the dirt street and heading further into town, towards the Pokémon Tower. If she could just find Mr. Fiji, everything would be okay, he had to know what to do. Her eyes turned up to the sky and she realized then, skidding to a halt, that the comforting tower that had watched over her entire life was gone, and when she looked forward, all she could see was more and more fog.

A shriek pierced the air and a child, younger than her stumbled out of the mist. She stumbled and fell, but before Lydia could help her up, a Haunter swooped in, its hands slamming into the girl's arms and holding her down as it cackled, mouth stretching wide. The girl's scream echoed in the air around them as its mouth closed around her neck, the blood splattering across the ground. A gurgling moan ended the scream and the Haunter reared back, a thin line of purple smoke connecting the two as it sucked out the remainder of the girl's soul.

Lydia stepped back as the eyes turned towards her. "No...no..."

A Gengar sprang up behind the Haunter, mouth stretching wide, wider than Lydia had ever seen, and suddenly, the Haunter was gone, absorbed in the larger Pokémon's mouth. Lydia fell to her knees, feeling violently sick to her stomach as the Gengar's eyes began to flash, from red to glowing white, its entire form convulsing and shivering. It suddenly went still though, its eyes pure white, a feral grin splitting its body in two. When the mouth opened, a high pitched wail pierced her ears and she bent in double, screaming and covering her ears as pain rocked through her.

"Raticate, Crunch!"

"Ratic-cate!"

Lydia didn't stop screaming, closing her eyes tight from the outside world as she prayed to be woken up, for this to all be some terrible nightmare, for her mom and dad to come wake her and hold her while she cried. But none of that happened, and when she was picked up in two strong arms, she only wept harder.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As mentioned in the last chapter, I am attempting to put this story in a more mature light. I am crap at writing horror though, so I hope it isn't too cheesy.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, the ship left the Petalburg port and continued its journey North, heading for the Sinnoh region with no more stops. Falkner had plunged himself into training harder than Morty had expected, calling for his Wingull to dodge more than he had in the past. Wingull wasn't as swift as his Pidgey or Pidgeotto, so he claimed that the more he got her to dodge, the more useful she'd be.

The Tailow still just sat on his shoulder.

Because of their training, it wasn't until midday that Morty had a chance to check his laptop and check his email. What he saw made his blood run cold.

The Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town had collapsed late that night, and the Ghost Pokémon had gone crazy. It was known that Haunter and Gastly could be overcome by bloodlust, and it was why Ghost Trainers had to work so diligently to train their Pokémon, and usually from birth.

So when the tower had collapsed, the thousand year old wards had broken and the Ghost Pokémon were released. The result was a massacre. Luckily, the resident Pokémon trainers were able to get the situation under control after they realized what had gone wrong, but it wasn't quick enough to save the lives of the town's citizens. Only 24 had been reported alive so far.

Morty quickly closed out of the initial email, opening up the next, from Sabrina.

_It is of utmost importance that you make it to my private estate in Saffron as quickly as possible. I know you are training a new Gym Leader, but this is more important. I think something has mutated the Ghost Pokémon. The lust for souls they displayed was not normal, even for wild Pokémon._

Blunt, to the point, and significantly more important. Morty shut his laptop and went off in search of Falkner.

-.-

Falkner's stomach felt a bit like hot lead as Morty's words washed over his ears. "I..."

Morty leaned against the railing, toying with the tatters of his scarf. "I'm sorry Falkner. But if Sabrina bothered to contact me about it...there's got to be some real trouble. If I could stay I would." He turned to look at him, giving what was supposed to be a reassuring smile.

Falkner only felt like he was about to be left behind for good. "When will you be back?"

"I don't know," Morty said. "There are still reports coming out about the whole thing and most of the other emails I received were just a vague as Sabrina's. I'll be back as soon as I can though. The ship will be docking tonight in Canalave, but you need to head straight for Oreburgh, to the East."

Falkner ducked his head. "It feels like you're leaving me."

Morty sighed and then moved closer, wrapping his arms carefully around his shoulders. "I'm not leaving for good. I just need to sort some things out."

"I'm sorry I'm not independent like you," Falkner said, returning the hug.

"We had different childhoods, Falkner. Don't apologize," Morty said.

Falkner didn't want Morty to let go. He felt safe in his arms in a way he hadn't felt in a long time. "I'm going to miss you."

"I have to go," Morty said, pulling back. His purple eyes were troubled, and guilt settled cold in Falkner's stomach as he realized how selfish he was being. Why couldn't he be more like Morty?

Morty pulled out a Pokéball and released his Drifblim, giving Falkner one more, parting nod before taking to the air. Falkner turned away, reaching a hand up to gently pet Tailow's head as he thought. They were only a year apart, he and Morty, so why wasn't he more independent? Why couldn't he act quickly and decisively, and with confidence? Perhaps, he had spent too long in Walker's shadow.

"Well, I'll show him. I'm going to have my first Gym Badge by the time he gets back," Falkner said, and Tailow chirped his encouragement. "I guess that means I need more training."

-.-

Morty swallowed thickly at the beast inside the electrified cage. Sabrina stood beside him, arms folded over her chest as she stared into the cage with her penetrating red gaze. The thing inside had once been a Haunter, but its eyes were now a solid white, and its screech was barely deafened by the barrier Sabrina's Alakazam had erected between them.

"This is the only live one we were able to capture," Sabrina said. "The rest were dead, dying, or eating each other. By the time we had neutralized the situation, the ones who had been living were dead."

"So they became this way...how?" Morty asked.

"We think it was from eating too many dreams and too many souls at once. Their lust grew faster than it would for a normal Haunter, and they went to the next biggest source of energy; themselves," Sabrina said.

Morty shifted, turning towards one of the scientists managing the current of the cage. "Stop the electricity. I'm going to capture it."

"Um, sir, I'm not sure I can let you do that," the scientist said.

"Obey." Sabrina's simple command had the scientist scrambling to do just that, and Morty was thankful they were at her private estate with her own team of scientists. If they had been at say, Professor Oak's, he never could've gotten away with what he was doing.

The electricity died away and Sabrina had her Alakazam kill the sound barrier as well. The Haunter's gaze turned on them and it let out a high pitched screech before rushing towards them. Morty summoned his Dusknoir, watching with a steely gaze as the Haunter was subdued by the larger being. He normally didn't call out such a powerful Pokémon, especially not the Dusknoir as it tended to be a bit rebellious, but the situation they were in meant he would need all the firepower he could get.

When he finally caught the mutant Haunter, after the fourth try, he flinched. One of the Dusknoir's hands was gone, the arm tapering off into nothing. The Dusknoir just stared at him though, waiting to be recalled.

"That shouldn't be possible," Sabrina said, her heels clicking on the ground as she moved towards the Dusknoir. "Dusknoir is too strong to be  _eaten_ by another Ghost Pokémon, isn't he?"

"It's a mutant Haunter. I don't know if anything is stronger than it," Morty said.

Sabrina gave a cold laugh. "Is that why you wanted it?"

Morty normally would've said no. He had enough power from his training earlier in life; he could take on most anything that came his way. But now he was on the trail of whatever had taken away everything he had ever loved, and a little more power, a little surprise certainly couldn't hurt.

"I like the way you think," she said, heedless of the scientists around them as she approached him.

There was something dark in her gaze, lustful, hypnotic in its own way. Sabrina was a strong trainer, she had power, power he could use-

_What am I thinking?_ Morty stepped back, turning towards one of the lab tables and opening a drawer along the side, looking for a cable he could wrap around the Pokéball containing his new friend. After a solid thirty seconds he found what he needed, and wrapped it around the Pokéball as he turned back to Sabrina. She was pressed up against him before he could say a word, one hand creeping up his shoulder.

"I always knew you were strong, but this level of ambition...it's admirable," she said.

Her red gaze was so haunting, paralyzing him. "Sabrina, what is  _wrong_  with you?" He pushed her away, dancing away towards his Dusknoir, as if the indifferent Pokémon would protect him from Sabrina's advances. "Look, I have to go to Lavender Town and look at the Psychic energy. It's better if I see it firsthand."

Sabrina's eyes dimmed, shifting from excited to disinterested in less than a heartbeat. "Fine. Do what you need to. Feel free to contact me though." She strode by him, her cold hand stroking his cheek. "I don't make that offer lightly."

Morty headed for the door, not dignifying her words with a response.

-.-

Falkner collapsed on his bed, holding Wingull close to his chest as he closed his eyes. Wingull cooed softly, wings tucking in close as he began to fall asleep, wary from her hard day of battling. Tailow was tucked under his other arm, already fast asleep. He was proud of himself. He had trained all day, and had done well despite the fact that he had no mentor to turn to and ask for help.

His hand drifted down to the pendent around his neck, and his thoughts followed towards Morty. Despite how alone he felt, he worried about the Ghost Trainer, and hoped that he was able to fix whatever had gone wrong in Kanto quickly so he could come back. It sounded bad, and he hoped that no harm would come to his mentor. The more he thought though, the darker his contemplations became.

The dream from the night before had been at the back of his mind all day, waiting for a moment of vulnerability to come back into his minds eyes in full color. He tried to keep it at bay, but when he slipped down into sleep, it followed after him.

-.-

Morty didn't reach Lavender Town until late that night. It had taken all of Drifblim's strength to get him to Saffron in a timely matter and he didn't want to wipe it out further. Despite how Saffron and Lavender Town were relatively close cities, the journey through the mountain trails to reach the valley Lavender Town was nestled in made the journey take hours on foot.

He almost wished it had taken longer, or that he hadn't reached it at all. The stench of death was almost unbearable, and a thick layer of dust coated everything, making the air thick and difficult to breath. Nearly all the windows of the buildings he passed were shattered, and not a single breath of life stirred on the dirt streets. The most chilling thing of all was the tower.

It had crumbled straight down and was now a mass of tombstones, bricks, and the bones of the dead it had contained, all piled together with thin purple smoke seeping out through the cracks. Morty headed towards it, calling out both his Dusknoir and his Gengar just to be on the safe side. As he drew closer, he began to hear the hiss of the smoke, and his Gengar and Dusknoir grew restless, drifting further and further behind before finally they would go no further.

Morty frowned and returned to them. The ruins would be something to examine later, if ever. For now, he could go talk with Mr. Fuji and see what he could find out. From what Sabrina had told him, a few of the survivors who couldn't be moved had holed up in Mr. Fuji's house and his rather extensive basement, which the man had turned into a mock hospital.

"Raticate! Use Crunch now!"

Gengar flinched as a Raticate sprung from the dust and the dark, sinking its fangs into the Ghost Pokémon. Dusknoir moved without a command, ramming into the Raticate and sending it flying with a chattering cry.

"Who's there?" Morty demanded.

"Oh, this is yours?" Blue stepped into view, his limping Raticate at his side. "Morty! You came."

"Yeah, I had a couple people contact me," Morty said. "Are Fantina or Shauntal coming?"

The young leader shrugged, running a hand through his brown hair to get some of the dust out. It was a futile effort. "So, what have you found out?"

"My Pokémon won't go near the tower," Morty said, jerking his thumb back. "Were you able to get close?"

"Nah, all my Pokémon start going crazy if I go anywhere near it," Blue said. "We were hoping that maybe you or one of the Psychic Trainers could get closer but if you can't...I don't know what we'll do. We can't go in there alone."

"What about Red?"

Red. The only trainer that had beaten every League, and had mastery over who knew how many Pokémon. If anyone could get close without being threatened, it would be him, but from the expression Blue was giving him, that certainly wasn't an option.

"Red's gone. No one knows where he is," Blue said. "No one's been able to contact him or anything. We've tried everything these past few days but..."

"Look, why don't you tell me what you know and what you were doing out here attacking my Pokémon," Morty said, recalling the Gengar.

"I was here the night the tower collapsed," Blue said. "I was meeting with Mr. Fuji about something when it happened, so I was able to get a few people to safety."

"Anyone know why it happened?" Morty asked.

Blue began to walk towards Mr. Fuji's house, his Raticate darting ahead to check the area. "No. The building codes were up to date, it was a sound building. All we know is there was supposedly a low groan and then the building came crashing down. The lights went out, and then the wailing started up and that's why all the windows are broken."

Morty put a hand on the other Trainer's shoulder, squeezing it reflexively. "It's okay. You did what you could, Blue."

The man's blue eyes were tortured as he met Morty's gaze. "I could've done so much more. She..."

"She? She what?" Morty asked, arm dropping.

"Just...come see."

The journey to Mr. Fuji's was uninterrupted, and when Blue led him into the building, the stench of death grew stronger. From wall to wall, there were beds with patients in them, their clothes still bloody with bandages wrapped around nearly every limb. A few nurses ran around, administering painkillers with their Chansies. But then Blue led him down into the basement, and that was when it began.

The sobbing was heart wrenching, and the source was a small girl, arms wrapped tight around her knees as she huddled on a bed in the far corner. Her eyes were wide, staring into nothing, even as Mr. Fuji rubbed her back, his mouth moving as he whispered something inaudible to her.

"What happened?" Morty asked.

"I don't know. She might have had direct contact with one of the first mutated Pokémon, and when Mr. Fuji looked, he found her parents...we think she saw both of them get killed," Blue said. "She's been like this every waking moment. She's only slept an hour or two since I found her. I should've..."

"You did what you could, Blue. You probably saved a lot of lives, acting as quickly as you did. Not every Pokémon trainer could have led their Pokémon against mutant ones and lived," Morty said. "You did a good job."

"Look at her! Dammit, I..." Blue whirled, driving his fist into the wall before leaning forward, shoulders shaking. "Red...where are you?"

"Blue-"

"Don't bother trying to reason with him," Mr. Fuji said, getting up and moving towards him. "He's distraught now, but he'll learn when he has a chance to calm down. Have you figured anything new out?"

"No, I can't get near the tower, unless I go by myself." Morty turned towards the old man. It was apparent that Blue was no longer paying attention. "So what do we do now?"

"I'll fix Lydia. I'm thinking during her next lucid moment, we'll take her to Pallet Town," Mr. Fuji said. "There, she might be able to relax."

"And him?" Morty gestured to Blue.

"There are few things that can make a former Champion feel helpless," Mr. Fuji said with a frown. "Last night was one of them, and Blue...well, his support system is non-existent. There's only one person in the world who understands him, and he's not here." The man shuffled towards the stairs. "If there's nothing more you can do, you should probably go speak with Lance."

"Lance is here?" Morty scaled the steps behind him. "Where?"

"Oh, wandering around," Mr. Fiji said. "Probably looking to see if he can find anymore Ghost Pokémon."

Morty nodded, exiting the building as quickly as possible. He was beginning to feel sick being surrounded by the death, not just in the makeshift hospital, but in the town as a whole. He was lucky though, for as he walked out, Lance emerged from the dust and the dark.

"Ah, you made it," Lance said, his gaze closed and harsh. "Have you seen Blue?"

Morty leaned against the wall. "Yeah. He's a little worse for wear. Is there anything more you need me here for? I want to get back to Falkner."  _And out of this cursed town._

Lance looked surprised. "Oh, right. I forgot about that. Actually, if you could come back with me to Saffron, we can come back tomorrow to look at the tower once more."

"Not even my Dusknoir will go near there," Morty said. "I can't do much more for you."

Lance closed his eyes, and for a moment, Morty expected the man to say he had to stay, even if he was next to useless. "Fine, you can go."

Morty was going to leave without a word, but the flash of vulnerability he could see when Lance first opened his eyes made him hesitate. "There is...something I can do."

"Oh?" Lance couldn't hide the hope in his eyes.

"You're going to have to trust me on this," Morty began. "You know my ability to control Ghost Pokémon. I'm the best there is."

Lance nodded, though his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I caught one of the mutants. I'm going to analyze his behavior and see if I can tame him. I might be able to learn something about all of this if I study him," Morty said.

"Are you insane?" Lance rarely got angry, but when he did, his eyes sparked and his posture changed, straightening and looming. Morty didn't let the Champion intimidate him though, instead standing up straight and meeting Lance's gaze head on.

"Honestly Lance. This is me we're talking about. You've talked to Steven. You know what happened during my challenge," Morty said, stepping closer. "If anyone can tame him, it's me. Not Shauntal, not Fantina. Me."

It wasn't something he liked to bring up. His challenge was a closely guarded secret between him and the other resident Champions, and he wouldn't have brought it up if it weren't for the fact that it might be the only thing to stop Lance from totally losing it.

"I don't care how powerful you are. You do  _not_ stray farther than what our leash allows," Lance said. "We can, and will, neutralize you if we have to. Falkner can get a new mentor as far as I'm concerned."

Morty felt the words like a blow to the stomach but he didn't let it register on his face. Let Lance think Falkner meant nothing to him. Then they wouldn't take him away. "Keep my leash long, Lance."

"Know your place, and maybe I will," Lance said. "Keep your mutant  _pet_. Just know that if something goes wrong, it is your fault and you will pay the price. I do not want another massacre on my hands."

"You really think I would let this happen again?" Morty asked. "You of all people should not be using the stereotypes of Ghost Trainers. We don't  _like_ death, it sickens me, and I mourn every life lost here. I promise this won't happen again, or at least it won't be done by my hand."

Lance finally broke their gaze, shoving past him without another word. Morty sighed, shoulders slumping. That Lance would think that low of him hurt. Sure, he had a sketchy past, but he was trying to do something for the betterment of all of them, not just himself. Sure, the Haunter would be strong if he could tame it, but it was more important to him that he learn what he could about them on his own. When he wanted to, he could have quite the connection with Ghost Pokémon; it came with the family name.

And to have Lance throw out the idea that they could take Falkner away from him. That wouldn't do. Falkner was the closest thing to family he had had in a long time. It was actually a little surprising how the younger had managed to weasel into his heart when he wasn't looking, and dig deep enough that the thought of going on without him was a little painful. Morty sighed.

He'd have to get back to Saffron tonight and convince Sabrina to let him use an Abra to teleport back to the S.S. Anne. He needed to see Falkner before he lost it.

-.-

Falkner was awake when Morty appeared in their shared room, unable to sleep thanks to the constant nightmare in his head, and nearly fell off the bed in surprise. Wingull and Tailow fluttered to the other side of the room, giving small squawks as they did so, and Falkner tossed the book he was using as a distraction onto the floor as he sat up. The small Abra beside the Ghost Trainer raised its arms, then winked out of existence as Morty stumbled towards him. The lamplight was dim, leaving his face in the shadows as he pulled himself onto Falkner's bed. Before he could say anything, the Ghost Trainer had his arms wrapped around the blue haired teen, and it was then that Falkner realized he was shaking.

Tentative, Falkner wrapped his arms around Morty. "What happened?"

"Shut up and hold me," Morty said, voice rough and strained.

He shifted to straddle Falkner's waist, pulling him closer. Falkner wrapped his arms tighter around the other, finding it odd that for once, he was the one offering comfort. In a way, it settled the turmoil in his own mind.

"There were only fifty survivors total," Morty whispered. "So much death..."

"It's okay," Falkner said, though he knew it wasn't. "You're safe now. We're both alive and okay."

"And Lance-" Morty spat the man's name, fingers bunching up the fabric of Falkner's shirt, the venom in his voice thick. "He threatened to take you away, but he doesn't understand!" The Ghost Trainer met his eyes for the first time, the violet gaze burning. "You are mine now. I'm going to take care of you. I wouldn't give you my brother's necklace if you weren't important. I. Am not. Losing you!"

Falkner's mind barely registered the harsh kiss Morty pressed to his lips, the only thought being that he had to calm the other down before he became completely undone.

"Morty," he said, pushing him back and cupping the older's face in both his hands. "No one is going to separate us. No one. Please just...sleep, okay?"

Morty pulled back, eyes turned down. "Can I stay here?"

Falkner swallowed thickly. This type of vulnerability was...new. "Yeah. That's okay."

He watched as Morty kicked off his shoes and discarded his scarf, heart in his throat as the man pulled back the covers to slide in beside him. Morty's grip was tight around him, and he returned the embrace without a second thought. Neither moved to turn the light out. It was only later, when sleep crowded the edges of Falkner's vision, that he realized Morty had stolen his first kiss.

 


	5. Chapter 5

When Falkner woke the next morning, Morty was in the shower. The events played through his mind as he methodically dressed himself, trying to look for the reason Morty had acted so crazy during their conversation. By the time he finished dressing, he was only more confused by Morty's erratic behavior.

"Not to mention that kiss," Falkner said, recalling Wingull and helping Tailow up onto his shoulder. "He's not making any sense."

Tailow chirped his agreement as the bathroom door opened.

"We dock in ten minutes," Morty said, not looking at Falkner as he picked his scarf up off the floor. "Then we're going to take a quick stop in Canalave's library before moving on."

"Uh, why?" Falkner asked.

Morty headed for the door. "League business. Meet me there when we dock."

"Wait!" Falkner called out as Morty opened the door. To his surprise, Morty obeyed, latching the door shut. "Morty...about last night-"

"Falkner, I had a moment of weakness,' Morty said, leaning his forehead against the door. "It won't happen again."

"Just...why did you kiss me?"

"Oh." Morty turned, eyes darting to the side. "I was feeling alone. I'm sorry for violating your privacy and I-"

The entire time Morty was talking, Falkner had stepped closer and closer, finally silencing the older with his finger. Morty's violet eyes widened, but it was a successful move in shutting him up. "Don't freak out. That's my job. If it helped you, then I'm glad I could be there. I just...have a few questions about it if you could answer them for me."

"Falkner, we're treading a dangerous line," Morty said, grabbing Falkner's wrist and tugging his hand down. "I really don't want to talk about this."

Falkner shook his head. "No. We're talking about this. Something is bugging you and I want to help."

"That's sweet, but I don't let people help me," Morty said. The words weren't patronizing, in fact Morty's eyes were full of sincerity, and even a bit of longing. "I can't."

"Why?" Falkner asked. "You know all my weaknesses, or close to it. Why can't I know anything about you?"

Morty didn't answer at first, instead pulling Falkner's necklace out from beneath his shirt, thumb brushing over the cool metal. His expression was unreadable. "I don't know a lot about you. I feel as though I've only scratched the surface. But that's not why I'm holding myself back."

Falkner reached up, putting his hand over Morty's and looking down. "Morty..."

"I haven't trusted anyone with my thoughts since I was eight, Falkner. It's not in my nature," Morty said. "I don't want to rely on anyone."

"So, you like your independence." Falkner looked up, making their eyes meet. "But you can't tell me what you weren't broken last night. That you didn't need help. You're never too old to accept comfort."

Morty chuckled as he lowered his head. "Throwing my words back at me I see. Clever."

"So talk to me!" Falkner hissed. "Let me help you for once."

Morty pushed away from the door to press his forehead to the younger's. "Give me time. I'm not used to having someone take care of me."

Falkner worried his lip as Morty twined both of their hands together, his sigh caressing the younger's face. "What are we doing now?"

"I don't know. Pretty sure Lance would stake me if he saw how...affectionate I'm being with you," Morty said. "But I don't know what we're doing or why I'm doing it, just that it feels okay for once."

"Are guys even allowed to like each other?"

Morty went still, then pulled away and began to laugh. Falkner wrinkled his nose, frowning when he realized that Morty was laughing  _at_  him. "You let me kiss you and  _now_  you're asking me that?"

"Well I was a little flustered at the time," Falkner said.

Morty met his eyes, smiling for the first time since he had returned. "To answer your question, yes, it's perfectly okay. Where have you been living, under a rock?"

Falkner shrugged, pleased that Morty was talking to him in such a relaxed manner again. "Pretty much. After I fell from Pidgeot's back, my...my father kept me inside mostly."

"Your father was weird," Morty said.

"Um, a bit."

"Look, Falkner. Thank you," Morty said. "I'll try not to shut you out so much anymore. You don't deserve it."

Falkner smiled. "That's good enough for me."

-.-

Canalave's library was huge. Room upon room of books, top to bottom, some in languages Falkner had never seen before. After a quick conversation with the head librarian, Morty grabbed Falkner's wrist and tugged him back to the rear of the building. Falkner watched as he strode over to one the tables, grabbing a scrap piece of paper and scribbling out a hurried message before shoving it into Falkner's hand.

"Uh, what is this?" Falkner asked. The writing was in the ancient language, all harsh edges and abrupt endings.

"Not important. Just check the books on that shelf, top to bottom, for those symbols in the title," Morty said, gesturing to a single shelf, a large, wheeled ladder allowing access to the top level.

"That's um...tall," Falkner said, craning his neck up to see the very top.

"I'm going to be right next to you on the other shelf," Morty said, tugging him towards the huge ladders.

"Why are we doing this?" Falkner asked as he took his first, trembling step up the ladder.

"Looking for information on some things that happened in Lavender Town," Morty said. The man was already halfway to the top. "We'll start at the top and work our way down."

"I can't." Tailow fluttered up to the next rung, giving him an encouraging chirp. "This is one of your stupid lessons again, isn't it?"

"We'll break your fear of heights eventually."

The next hour found the two of them examining the title of every book, resulting in a pile of exactly 43 books. By the time solid ground was beneath Falkner once more, his stomach was not quite so knotted as it had been when they began. Morty offered him a smile before heading for the desk, Falkner trailing after him. He peered over the older's shoulder when he opened the first book, eyes widening at what he saw.

"You can  _read_  the ancient language?"

Morty shrugged as his finger trailed down what must have been a table of contents. "My family was one of the oldest in the world, and we could trace our bloodline back to the first Ghost Trainers. They were all suckers for tradition, so they passed the language down. I can speak it as well as read and write it."

"So I guess you'll have to produce an heir, won't you?"

Morty slammed the book shut and grabbed the second in the pile, an irritated sigh hissing out of his mouth. "The amount of times I've been told that is impressive. But the line will die with me. I have no intention of marrying anyone, and if I did, it wouldn't be a woman."

"How long is this going to take?" Falkner asked. He didn't want to dwell on the subject since it was causing the Ghost Trainer to become so frustrated.

"About two hours," Morty said. He looked up at him. "Feel free to explore the library. You can probably find some tips on training bird Pokémon."

Falkner knew a dismissal when he heard one, so he gave the man a smile and headed out of the room.

-.-

Morty set aside the fifth book, cracking his back. He had looked up every book on Ghost Pokémon involving outbreaks, and was looking for any sign of the Pokémon being mutated. The library was extensive and organized it in such a way that it was easy to pick out old news reports and history books on any subject he wanted. So far, he had found nothing, but he also had another thirty eight books to get through. Most of the outbreaks were small and quickly neutralized, and there were no reports of cannibalism with the Pokémon.

The Ghost Trainer grabbed the next book, rubbing his temples without opening it. He was sick of reading. He wanted to go back to Falkner and continue their journey and ignore the deadly creature contained in the constantly wiggling ball in his pack. Ignore the disease. But that wasn't an option.

Speaking of Falkner, he didn't know what to do. He felt possessive of the other Trainer, he cared about him, and he didn't know why. Being the head of Ecruteak meant he dealt with their problems, and he did care about the citizens but they hadn't truly cared for him. Falkner did. It was in his eyes. While the citizens had asked, their eyes showed they weren't genuinely interested but Falkner was so open, an open book, and his concern was apparent and true.

But he had to work. Then he could talk to Falkner, maybe, if he felt like actually addressing their now questionable relationship. Sighing, he opened the book and began to read.

-.-

There was only so much reading Falkner could do, and Morty had already gone way past 2 hours. When he had peeked into the room, Morty still had ten more books to go through, and he hadn't even stirred at Falkner's presence. So, Falkner decided a little more training was in order.

Which led to where he was now. The PokéCenter, waiting for Nurse Joy to heal his Pokémon while Tailow chattered angrily in his ear as his stupidity. He head been training out by himself against some wild Pokémon when an enthusiastic trainer had challenged him, refusing to take no for an answer. He hadn't stood a chance. He was easily crushed by the trainer's Manectric and Luxray.

"Oh shut up," he said, flicking Tailow lightly on the head as he retrieved his Pokéballs from the smiling nurse. "It's not like you ever do anything useful anyways."

The Tailow went silent as he left the building, and when he glanced at the small Pokémon, he had an affronted look on his face. Falkner snorted and headed back to the library. Hopefully the man was done researching and they could get on with collecting Gym Badges.  _As if I'll even win._

Tailow chirped, fluttering in front of him, then darted towards the exit of the city. Falkner stared, confused. Frustrated, Tailow fluttered back and forth until Falkner began to trot after him, finally understanding that the Pokémon wanted him to follow him out of the city.

"Though I don't know why," Falkner said. "Everyone's tired you stupid bird. I can't-"

Tailow landed on the ground and looked up at him as if waiting for direction. Realization dawned on him then, but he was unwilling to accept it as the truth for it was too good to be so.

"You mean you're  _not_  going to be a free-loader?" Falkner grinned. "Time to get to work then."

Tailow looked as if he were already regretting his decision.

-.-

Morty frowned as he exited the library. There had been no sign of Falkner inside the library, which was to be expected since he took so long, but he could've at least informed him of where he was going. He didn't get far in his search, for when he rounded the corner, he ran smack into Falkner, looking happier than he had in awhile.

"Oh, you're done," Falkner said. "Tailow's letting me train him."

Morty looked at Tailow, who was still perched on the blue-haired teen's shoulder and looking a little worse for wear. "He looks a little disgruntled."

"Just because he let me train him doesn't mean he likes it," Falkner said.

The younger's smile was beautiful as he beamed up at Morty, the Ghost Trainer was struck by the sudden urge to kiss him. It was as if last night, he had unleashed some sort of demon within himself.  _We need to deal with whatever line I crossed,_  Morty thought.  _Before I kiss him again. Moltres, what is wrong with me?_

"Did you find what you needed?"

"Uh no," Morty said, hand cupping Falkner's elbow as he guided him towards the city exit. "Well maybe. I'm going to have to go over my notes more tonight."

"Hey, Morty?"

Morty's eyes narrowed at the hesitant note in Falkner's voice. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Falkner said, moving to walk in front of him, eyes meeting his. "I just...the trainers around here are too strong for me. I got challenged by one of them but I lost really bad." Falkner stopped, glancing away.

Morty kept walking, grabbing Falkner's arm and bringing him along. "You win some, you lose some. Don't worry about it. I'll deal with anyone who's too strong for now."

"You don't need to protect me."

"You wouldn't tell me what happened if you didn't want my help," Morty said. "Come on. If we hurry, we might make it to Oreburgh and have an actual bed to sleep in."

-.-

"Falkner, we need to talk," Morty said, closing the door of their shared hotel room and setting his bag down by the door. "About what I did."

They had indeed made it to Oreburgh, but it was late now and they were both dead tired, practically asleep on their feet. Falkner opened the window to let Tailow out to get his late dinner, then sat down on the bed. "Okay. So you kissed me. It happened, let's move on."

The younger didn't meet Morty's gaze. If those purple eyes held the emotion they had last night, Falkner wasn't sure if he could hold himself back. He was attracted to the Ghost Trainer, he knew that much after their kiss, but he didn't want to act without talking it out with Morty first. In a way, an emotional way, Morty was almost more fragile than he was.

"But the reason I did it is important," Morty said, moving across the floor towards him. "I didn't even realize I was attracted to you until I really thought about that kiss. I kissed you because I needed comfort but...you're the first person who's ever really cared and I guess I was scared that I was going to lose that."

Falkner stood up, finally meeting his purple eyes. His gaze was vulnerable, and he looked as though he were going to bolt at any moment. "I told you, you aren't going to lose me. You're my mentor and I enjoy your company. Lance can't chose my mentor for me."

"I worry that once you really know me, you won't fancy my company anymore," Morty said, voice quiet as he brushed the back of hand against Falkner's chin.

"What did you say to Lance? Why did he say he was going to separate us?" Falkner asked. Part of him didn't want to know. After all, Morty would have to be this nervous for a reason, right? But still, knowing the truth was better than Morty keeping secrets.

Morty backed up a few steps, and Falkner could practically see the war going on in his gaze. "I found something in Lavender Town. I decided to keep it, even though it's dangerous, and Lance doesn't exactly approve of my actions. What he said could've just been because he was angry and not thinking clearly but either way...the threat was there and I reacted without thinking."

"Morty, just tell me. Stop dancing around it," Falkner said, folding his arms over his chest.

Morty sighed. "I captured a mutated Haunter. It's insanely strong and I've been looking up how to tame it. That's what I was looking for in Canalave."

Falkner shook his head, a small smile on his lips. "Really? You thought I was going to be angry over that? You're just looking for a way to tame it. That's not so bad, especially if it was dangerous to begin with. You're helping people in the long run, so you shouldn't be ashamed."

"Ah, if only life were that simple," Morty said. "You have a nice view of the world, Falkner. I wish I could share it."

Falkner frowned. "I'm not a kid, Morty. Don't treat me like one."

"I didn't want it just for the betterment of society, Falkner. I like power, and if I can tame a new breed of Pokémon, I will get stronger. Is that something I shouldn't be ashamed of?" There was anger in Morty's eyes, but as far as Falkner was concerned, the Ghost Trainer was being a complete idiot, making a bigger deal out of the whole issue than was strictly necessary.

"Morty, what's wrong with any of this? Wanting more power isn't a bad thing," Falkner said.

"I could abuse it," Morty suggested.

"You're not that type of person," Falkner said.

"You don't know what type of person I am, Falkner," Morty said.

"Do you really not want to lose me?" Falkner asked. "Because it seems to me you're trying to convince me to run away as fast as I can. Which, by the way, it isn't working."

Morty's eyes widened in surprise, and Falkner was pleased to see the man flush with embarrassment. "I...you..."

"I know I don't have the life experience you do," Falkner said as he stepped closer. "But I'm able to make my own decisions. I want to be with you...in a romantic sense, I don't know, but I like being around you and I don't think anything you say will change that."

Morty ducked his head, but Falkner could see the grin sneaking on his lips. "Falkner, you...you just keep surprising me." It was Falkner's turn to flush as Morty knocked his chin up, looking so that their eyes could meet. "You've convinced me. Maybe I'm not as poisonous of a person as I thought. But let's not jump to any hasty actions, okay?"

Falkner nodded. Honestly, he was just glad that Morty wasn't going to run away for stupid reasons. Now, they would have a chance to let something grow between them, if it was meant to grow at all, and that was definitely a chance Falkner was willing to make. "Okay. I guess I should get some sleep." He stepped back out of Morty's reach.

"Yeah, you're right." Morty moved before Falkner could react, catching his lips in a chaste kiss. "Good night Falkner."

Falkner flushed and swallowed. "Night Morty."

-.-

Falkner ran through the strategy one more time in his head as he climbed the stairs up onto the rock covered arena. Boulders of all sizes were scattered between him and Roark, the Gym Leader, no doubt to help put his Pokémon at a greater advantage. Morty was wrong about one big thing though. He didn't look like he was having a rough time adjusting to being a Gym Leader.

Roark looked tough and confident with, his mining hat was pulled low on his head, red hair spiking out every which way from beneath it, and a visible smirk on his lips. He looked up, tipping his hat back as he drew a Pokéball from his belt.

"You're my first challenger," Roark said, his voice calm as he braced his feet apart. "Welcome to the Oreburgh Gym. You won't pass this test easily. Go, Geodude!"

"Pidgey!"

Roark's eyes flashed, his smirk spreading into a grin as he realized the type advantage he had. "Geodude, Rock Throw."

"Pidgey, dodge, follow up with a Quick Attack!"

Pidgey twisted in the air to avoid the medium sized rocks hurled at her delicate form before dashing forward. Geodude didn't even twitch at the attack, but Falkner knew he wasn't winning this battle in any grand, one move. Pidgey dodged more than she was hit, but once Roark realized what he was doing, he became more careful about his attacks, having his Geodude hide and spring surprise attacks from the ground.

Falkner was relentless though. The Quick Attacks became Gusts whenever he had a chance, though most times when he used Gust, Pidgey would get nailed with another attack right after. The attack just took too long to perform. Unless of course, he timed it just right.

"Pidgey, Gust!"

Pidgey obeyed, fluttering to the ground as the Geodude rolled across the ground, too injured to get back up.

"Well, aren't you strong?" Roark said, recalling the Geodude. He grinned again. "But let's see how you deal with this."

"Come on back, Pidgey," Falkner said. Pidgey was about to fall over herself, and he didn't want to have her faint trying to take down a new opponent. "Go, Pidgeotto!"

"Onix! Use Iron Tail!"

The just released Onix moved with surprising speed, slamming its tail down towards the Pidgeotto as soon as he was released. Pidgeotto dodged, taking to the air and awaiting Falkner's command.

"Pidgeotto, Double Team!"

The Pidgeotto began to swoop around the arena above the Onix, moving so fast that he appeared to be in several places at once. Onix obeyed Roark's commands though, trying to Headbutt the smaller Pokémon, even trying to land a Rock Throw a few times. Once, the Onix managed to hit, but Falkner didn't give Pidgeotto another command until Onix was thoroughly confused and reeling.

"Pidgeotto, use Gust now!"

Pidgeotto gave a harsh cry and obeyed, the wind whipping out from every direction and, thanks to how fast he was moving, overwhelming the already staggering Onix. It wavered and fell over, struggling back into an upright position and attempting another attack only to fall back over.

Roark wasn't grinning as wide now as he recalled the Onix. "You're quite good. But I have one more trick up my sleeve, and he won't be going down so easily. Go, Cranidos!"

The blue, dinosaur like Pokémon growled low in its throat as Falkner brought in Pidgeotto, small claws slashing at the air. He cast Morty, who was standing against the wall to the left of the arena, a glance, and the Ghost Trainer offered him a small nod of encouragement.

"Go Wingull!" The small bird Pokémon was dwarfed by Cranidos, and Falkner's heart began to pound as he ran across the ground at Roark's command, getting ready to use Headbutt. "Wingull, Water Gun!"

Wingull obeyed, shooting a spray of water at Cranidos before twirling up into the air, easily avoiding the rampaging Pokémon's attack. Roark seemed to have expected it though, and the Cranidos kept going, ramming into one of the boulders and launching it skyward. His tail smacked against it to send it hurtling towards Wingull. It clipped Wingull's wing and he rolled through the air, taking a solid thirty seconds before getting his wings working again.

"Wingull, use Water Gun!"

"Cranidos, Rock Throw!"

The Cranidos obeyed faster than Wingull, and once more, he was tossed through the air by the attack. Falkner gritted his teeth. The Cranidos was just too strong.

"Wingull, Water Gun!"

Wingull obeyed, shooting a stream down, interrupting the Pokémon's next attack. The action seemed to get Wingull awake and moving again, just in time because he was able to dodge the rocks Cranidos has hurled towards him. It was time to bring in the stronger attacks. They were still hard to preform, and there was a chance Wingull would mess them up because he had just learned them, but it was their only chance now. Roark wouldn't fall for Pidgeotto's Double Team again.

"Wingull, Water Pulse."

Wingull spiraled higher into the air, moving quickly and rolling as he dodged Cranidos's rocks before rearing his head back, wings beating at the air. He released the attack, large rings of water raining down on the Cranidos with such a force that the Pokémon toppled over, the rocks for his next attack clutched in his hands. After failing to stand, Roark called Cranidos back and Wingull fluttered down into Falkner's grip.

His beak clacked against Tailow's as the two bird Pokémon rejoiced over their win. If worse came to worse, Falkner would have urged the Tailow off his shoulder and into battle, but it had never come to that point. They could train a little more, and be ready for the next battle.

"That was...very well done," Roark said as he dusted his hands off on his pants and began walking over. "I'm surprised you were able to take me down with those Flying types, but you work well with your Pokémon." He gave Falkner a wide grin as he presented the trainer with the Coal Badge. "I present you with the Coal Badge for your hard work. Good luck in the future."

Falkner accepted the metal badge, holding it cupped between his hands as it shined in the overhead light. "Thank you. I learned a lot while training in preparation for this battle."

"No need to sound so formal," Roark said, giving his shoulder a squeeze before frowning when he realized he had smeared coal on the other's shirt. "Sorry about that."

Falkner shook his head. "It's fine."

"Well, now that this battle is done and over with," Morty said, slipping up beside him. "I can tell you that Falkner is training to be a Gym Leader."

Roark's brown eyes widened. "That explains it. I hope you do well on the rest of your journey."

"Thank you," Falkner said, ducking his head.

"And loosen up a bit," Roark said as he moved into Falkner's line of vision, smiling at him. "You'll do great."

 


	6. Chapter 6

Falkner's heart was still racing in an excitement when he and Morty reached the small diner near the edge of town. He had done something right, done something successful, and he hadn't needed Morty's help or advice during the battle. His joy refused to die down as they entered the diner, a fact that Morty mentioned as they sat down in their booth.

"I can't help it," Falkner said in response as he opened the menu. "I feel...empowered I guess. And I have enough money to pay for us both. It's the least I could do."

"Hm, did you just turn this into a date?"

Falkner ducked his head at Morty's lilting tone and blushed when the man chuckled. "Is that a bad thing?"

Morty pushed the menu down that was hiding Falkner's face from view, his purple eyes warm as he looked at him. "No. And I accept your offer."

Morty's acceptance sent Falkner's heart beating frantically once more, and he smiled at him. Their friendship had so far been Falkner just taking things: Morty's money, his time, his patience. Now, they were beginning to get a more even footing.

"So who's the next Gym Leader I have to face?" Falkner asked after they had ordered their food.

"Eterna's leader, Gardenia." Morty flashed him a smile. "She's a Grass-Type."

"So I won't have to work so hard," Falkner said.

"I should be a proper mentor and say that you always have to work hard, but I'd rather be honest. That battle will be a lot easier," Morty said as he leaned back in his chair. "But keep in mind that she is a Gym Leader."

"I can take her I think," Falkner said. "I don't feel so weak anymore."

Morty nodded. "You've grown a lot, and really quickly too." There was something in his eyes, something that made Falkner want to reach over and hug him.

"Morty-"

"Oh look food," Morty said as the waitress arrived at their table.

Falkner sighed and let Morty change the subject.

-.-

They didn't bother staying in Oreburgh any longer than necessary, heading back towards Jubilife City. To the north of the bustling city was the Ravaged Path and Eterna Forest, which according to Morty was a more interesting path, if a bit longer.

Like before, they didn't stay long in Jubilife, and for that, Falkner was grateful. Violet City was the perfect size; small enough that he had never felt crowded, and big enough that you didn't know  _everyone_  that lived there. Then again, he rarely left his house, but either way, Jubilife was too crowded for Falkner to be comfortable. Strangely, Morty didn't seem bothered until they left out the north exit.

"Do you not like big cities?" Falkner asked after they had exited the Ravaged Path. It hadn't been too bad. His training had made fighting Rock-Types a lot easier, so their walk through the cave had been rather quick.

"What gave you that idea?" Morty asked. He ripped open the wrapper of a candy bar he had pulled out of his pack, and Falkner's eyes narrowed.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked.

Morty's eyebrows rose as he took a bite, and he stopped walking. "Why, you want some?"

"If you're willing to share," Falkner said, holding his hand out.

Morty grabbed his hand and tugged him forward, pressing their lips together. Falkner's eyes widened and then slid closed as Morty's tongue prodded his lips open, hand trailing down the blue-haired trainer's side as he pushed a small piece of chocolate into his mouth. Then he pulled back, and with a chuckle, began to walk once more.

Falkner flushed as he ate the chocolate, trotting after him. "Hey, you can't just distract me like that. You never answered my question."

Morty ruffled his hair. "You're so easy to distract though."

He paused then, frowning at the edge of the forest, only to shake his head and keep walking.

"Uh...could I have another piece?" Falkner asked as they entered the forest, the leaves rustling together above them, and muted sunlight splattering across the ground. Tailow fluttered around them, chirping as he flew from tree to tree.

"Greedy," Morty said, breaking off a piece and handing it to him.

Falkner was a little disappointed it didn't lead to a kiss, but he didn't want to push the matter. "So you're not going to answer my question then?"

"Ah, I was so close to having you distracted once again," Morty said. "Look, Falkner. We're almost at our destination, and when we've settled down for the night, we can talk. Good?"

"Destination?" Falkner inwardly cursed at his inability to stay focused. "And yes, I can wait."

Morty chuckled and flicked the younger's nose. "You're like a puppy, the way you get distracted. Anyways, at Canalave, I read up on a few rumors about a haunted chateau near the edge of Eterna Forest. Apparently there are reports of human ghosts being seen there. Probably false, but I'm willing to look into all my options."

Falkner's stomach turned to lead in his gut. "We're spending the night in a haunted mansion? Really?"

"Falkner, do you know what made my family so good at being Ghost Trainers?" Morty asked.

"Um, no. Should I have?"

Morty shrugged. "It wasn't like we hid it, but no one really asked either, so most people don't know. Channelers and Psychics that use Ghost Pokémon's can feel the emotions of their companions. It's how they tame them. They can feel the Pokémon's emotions and train them in the proper way because of it. My family could do that and more. We could talk to the Ghosts. Difficult, but doable. Every Ghost in my possession is a...friend. I know their pasts, how they died, why they still hang around. The Pokémon in our care became something more.

"It's difficult, like I said, but they used to say that any wild Ghost could be tamed by our family. I'm not about to let that reputation die. If I can find out more information at this chateau, then I'll be happy. If you want to sleep outside, you can."

"Are you crazy?" Falkner asked. "Of course I'm going in there with you. If anyone can protect me it'll be you."

Morty smiled, stopping once more and grabbing Falkner by the shoulders. "Thank you, for trusting me." He kissed his cheek and continued walk. "Come on, pick up the pace. I want to be there before it gets dark."

-.-

"I can't believe you talked me into this," Falkner said as Morty pulled open the door of the mansion. "I am not going in there." Tailow rustled his feathers, gave a chirp, and fluttered off his shoulder to a tree, obviously willing to take his chances in the wild then follow them into the chateau. That didn't bode well for him at all.

Candles along the wall, flickering with an eerie purple light and bathing the room in a soft glow, lit the entrance hall. Morty walked in without hesitation, leaving Falkner no choice but to follow him or be left outside for the night.

"Don't be scared," Morty said, shooting him a grin.

The door slammed shut behind Falkner and he sprung forward, grabbing Morty's arm rightly as his heart began to pound. "This place is haunted."

"Ghost Pokémon are naturally playful," Morty said. "There's really nothing to be worried about."

"You said one of the largest outbreaks of Ghost Pokémon happened here though," Falkner said, not letting go of Morty as the man walked forwards. "What if they come after us?"

"I wouldn't bring you in here if I didn't think I could protect you," Morty said.

The sound of a backpack unzipping made them both freeze, and Falkner turned his head to see Morty's pack opening. "Morty-"

A Pokéball, wrapped in thick cables, floated out of the pack and Morty whirled, hand snatching at the floating device but it was whisked out of his reach. Bright red eyes flashed for a moment, laughter echoing around them, and then the ball was gone.

"Falkner, stick close to me," Morty said tightly as he shrugged his backpack off, pulling out four Pokéballs and shoving them in his pockets. "Things have taken a turn for the worst."

"What? What happened? What did they take?" Falkner asked, unable to keep the note of hysteria out of his voice.

"That may have been the ball holding the mutated Pokémon," Morty said. "So let's just stick close."

"Morty, I want to leave," Falkner said.

A hand descended on his shoulder and when he turned, he was greeted with glowing red eyes and a loud cackle. Then the eyes were gone and purple fog wafted up from the wooden floorboards, clouding Falkner's vision, and when he turned to find Morty, the Ghost Trainer was nowhere to be seen.

He backed up, looking for the stairs, an exit, anything, but the fog was so thick he was left blind. A cold hand grasped his wrist but when he looked down, there was nothing there, and when he fought back, tried to escape the grip, he was tugged relentlessly forward. Thoughts of death raced through his head, each one worse than the last until he was tugging against the grip with all his strength, unable to stop his begging whimpers from slipping out of his mouth.

A door slammed shut. He hadn't even realized he had been tugged through the doorway, but before he could register any more thoughts, he was hurled forward onto the ground, knees cracking painfully on the ground. Pushing back his pain, he got back to his feet and lunged at the door, trying the handle only for it to shake uselessly in his grip. He turned around, panting, back to the door. A picture frame hung on the wall, a portrait of a little girl, but her eyes were a glowing red, and were the only source of light in the room.

"You are a scared little boy. I can sense your fear." The voice, a girl, no more than 10, echoed around the room, and again, Falkner looked around for the source but there was none to be found. "The fear that you're useless, that you can't defend yourself without someone to help you, without _Daddy_."

"Shut up!" Falkner shouted, even as he sank to the ground, fingers clenching at his hair. It was all true, but how did she know that?

"My Ghosts are able to pick apart your thoughts, infiltrate your mind. We've had time to practice you see. It makes life more fun when travelers stumble upon my...humble abode."

"Get out of my head!"

"Falkner?"

The door was thrown open and Morty tumbled in, the candles along the wall lighting like flares and beating back the fog. Morty had his Dusknoir and Gengar at his side, the bound Pokéball clenched tightly in his hand. Falkner scrabbled to his feet, throwing himself at Morty before he could even process what his body was doing and holding him tight.

Morty gave a chuckle. "What? Scared of a few Ghosts?"

Falkner could tell from the tremor in his voice that he wasn't the only one. Morty was nervous too. The Ghost Trainer pulled back and grabbed Falkner's arm, guiding him to stand behind him. Falkner's eyes widened when he saw why.

There, in the center of the room on the dusty rug, stood a girl, her yellow dress torn, and the pink ribbon holding her hair up tangled around her ears, her throat, trailing down her arms. Her eyes were a glowing red, and on either side of her stood a grinning Gengar. The smile that split her face was much too large for her head.

"You have been a most ungrateful host," Morty said. "Stealing my Pokémon from me. Tsk, tsk."

Falkner had never heard Morty speak in such a tone, and he backed away from him until his back hit the door frame.

"I just wanted a little fun. Besides, the beast contained in there is dangerous. It is best if I keep it," she said, gliding across the floor and making to snatch for it.

Morty jerked it away. "I thought the rumors of a human Ghost were a little far-fetched, but seeing as how they're true, I think we should have ourselves a conversation. Perhaps, without your friends interfering, and without my things being stolen."

He didn't say anything, but the next moment, Dusknoir had snagged the girl and pinned her to the ground. Gengar spasmed and a Dark Pulse rippled across the ground, distorting the other two enemies until they vanished. Morty gestured towards the door and it slammed shut, nearly clipping Falkner's shoulder in the process.

"Now that I have you right where I want you, let's have a conversation," Morty said, crouching beside her. He blocked Falkner's view of the scene, and the younger wasn't quite sure he wanted to see.

"Alright mortal, let's have a talk."

"You knew what was in this ball was dangerous," Morty said, tossing said Pokéball up and down in the air a few times. "How? And do you know what's inside it?"

"I can feel the energy, and that is an energy I have never felt before," she said. "It's malicious, more so than myself and that is truly a feat. And while I may be malicious, I am not power hungry as you are. Yes, he would be much safer with me."

"Not power hungry? Really? So exerting your power over the pair of us, separating us and locking doors left and right is not power hungry?" Morty gave a low chuckle. "You're senile in your old age. I heard this chateau is well over 200 hundred years old. How long have you called it home?"

"Since it was built." The girl squirmed, suddenly breaking free of Dusknoir and gliding towards the picture frame. "Before you ask, I will not tell you how I came to haunt this place. It is knowledge that the fewer people that know, the better. Otherwise we'd have all sorts of human ghosts and well, that just won't do."

"Do you know how to tame the beast that I brought with me?" Morty asked. "That's what I really want to know."

When the girl turned once more, her comically large mouth had shrunk to normal size, and she looked every bit like a scruffy young girl. Not a monstrous ghost. "I suppose I could figure it out. How dangerous is it?"

"It ate a whole bunch of Ghost Pokémon and humans. Suppose that's answer enough."

The girl frowned. "Indeed. You are of the Ecruteak tribe, yes?"

Morty nodded. "That's how I found out about you. I went through the records at Canalave, and there was a journal by one of my ancestors who came to you for help. Those were the rumors I found, and while he didn't leave many details, I figured it'd be a good place to start."

"I can only suggest that you try using your powers on him. I am only a ghost, and he would eat me as easily as any other Ghost Pokémon he has already devoured. The only reason I can control the Pokémon here is because they have been with me for centuries," she said. "But if you're from that tribe, I'm sure you can figure it out. His mind will be chaotic. Think of it as a knot, and go from there. I've dealt with a few tortured souls in my years. That's all the advice I can give you."

Morty gave a nod, turning and walking towards Falkner. "We'll be leaving then. Thank you, even if you did make this more troublesome than necessary."

The girl tilted her head to the side, fixing Falkner with a stare. "You need to toughen up. Your fears are laid out in your expression and your mind as easily as an open book. Learn to close the book."

Falkner just gave a quick nod and chased after Morty. "Are we leaving?"

"Yeah, I got what I came for, and I don't want to stay here any longer. That girl is definitely hiding something from us and I don't want to stick around in her dominion any longer than I have to," Morty said.

They walked down a flight of stairs Falkner didn't remember being dragged up, then through the foyer and out into the cool, dark night. With the doors firmly behind them, both trainers slumped to the ground, the adrenaline rush that had kept them both moving for so long finally giving out. Morty nudged his side.

"You alright over there?"

"I want to sleep," Falkner said. "That all...wore me out."

"Well, we'll have to get away from here before I'll be willing to shut my eyes. Eterna's not much further, if you're up for another walk," Morty said, pushing himself to his feet and then extending a hand down to Falkner.

Falkner shot a quick glance at the haunted chateau. "The faster we get away from here, the happier I am."

-.-

"I was afraid for you, you know," Morty said as they made their way up to their hotel room in Eterna.

Falkner had been so tired, and it was so late, that he hadn't really taken in any of the details of the city, instead just allowing himself to follow after Morty. "You seemed fine to me. I thought I was going to die, but you're so much stronger than me so..."

"When I lost sight of you, I was afraid," Morty said, lips pressed in a hard line as he unlocked their door. "Things were going wrong from the moment we stepped in so I couldn't help but assume the worst."

"I'm glad we didn't stay," Falkner said. Tailow flew off his shoulder and onto the windowsill, curling his head under his wing and promptly falling asleep. "That was...terrifying. I thought you were going to leave me."

Morty shook his head. "I would never do that, not unless someone forced me to, and even then I'd fight."

Falkner swallowed thickly. "No one's cared about me that much before. My father...I thought he cared but you...you're proving that he didn't. Not really."

"Falkner..." Morty shrugged off his pack and swept the younger up in a hug. "I do care about you. And I'm sure Walker did too, maybe you just aren't looking at it right. Parents always care."

Falkner bit his lip. If he told Morty the truth he wouldn't think that, would he? But no, he wouldn't breath a word. It wasn't until Morty, until he had started this journey that he realized what his father had done to him. It wasn't so bad, really, but the doubt it created buried itself deep, refused to leave. He squirmed out of Morty's grip.

"Thanks Morty. And don't think I forgot about my question," he said. "I'll ask in the morning, I'm too tired to listen now."

"You're distracting me," Morty said, a small smile on his lips. "You can tell me when you're ready, Falkner. I won't push you."

How the other man knew that he was hiding something was beyond him. But he was going to wait. He respected Falkner enough to actually wait until he had sorted out his own thoughts. That...that was certainly new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I am lazy I didn't bother researching any concrete data on the Chateau, everything in here came from my own head, and any similarities to the real story or someone else's ideas is entirely accidental. Just thought I'd throw that out there.


	7. Chapter 7

"You think you can handle yourself on your own today?" Morty asked as he handed their hotel key over to the manager.

Falkner nodded, trailing after the Ghost Trainer. "I need to start fighting on my own, without you there. I might as well start with an easier battle."

Morty frowned, but Falkner couldn't think of what he had said to make Morty do so. When he looked at him again, the Ghost Trainer had his usual easy-going smile on his face once more. "I'm going to be out for awhile, so try and keep yourself entertained, alright? I've got to see what I can do about my demented Haunter."

"You can do it, Morty. If anyone can..." Falkner stopped, realizing what he was doing.

Morty smiled. "Thanks for the encouragement. Knowing you believe me, strangely, means a lot." They stepped out into the sunlight of the early morning, the city still not quite awake. Morty stopped and turned to face him. "You'll do great today, I'm sure. You've grown a lot when I wasn't paying attention and I think I just started realizing it."

"Uh, thanks?" Falkner couldn't help the flush trying to creep up his neck at Morty's praise, and his reaction made him feel like he was taking a step back, like he was dependent on Morty's approval.

But then Morty was giving him a soft kiss, sending a jolt of electricity down his spine before the Ghost Trainer headed out of the city. The giddy feeling that resulted didn't go away as he made his way through the city towards the gym, and when he arrived, the Gym Leader had to snap her fingers in front of his face to get his attention.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, ears flushing red as he shook himself out of his thoughts.

She was wearing cut off tan shorts with a forest green shawl and black belly shirt. Like Roark, she was on the younger side, her smile cheerful and warm as she flicked Falkner's nose. "Lost in the clouds I see. Well, you better snap out of it, because I don't fight anyone that can't beat my students."

Falkner straightened and nodded. "Then I'll see you when I'm done."

She laughed and headed out of the small entry room through an archway, stepping into a much larger room. Falkner followed after her, eyes wide as he took in the sight of the gym. It was an inside forest, and a pretty one too. The ceiling was a large window, letting in natural sunlight and heating the room up to a pleasant temperature, which would no doubt get warmer and stickier as the day wore on.

There was a very obvious path through the trees, and he went to look down it, Gardenia was already gone. A young girl trainer barred his way, a Pokéball in each hand. Falkner nudged Tailow off his shoulder, a grin on his face.

-.-

Morty wiped his chalk covered hands off on his pants, eyes checking over the seal he had drawn onto the ground one more time. Channelers used seals to tame wild Ghost Pokémon, containing them within a space and mitigating possible damage to the surrounding areas. It was not even close to a flawless safety net, especially given what he was dealing with, but he had to start somewhere.

He called out Dusknoir and Gengar once more and they both floated to hover on either side of the seal. Then he sat down at another side and closed his eyes, pulling out the mutated Haunter's Pokéball and rolling it around between his hands. He had chosen a spot far into the woods so that if something did go wrong, he had a chance to stop it, but that didn't keep the nerves down.

It was vital that he calmed himself down before he pulled out the Haunter. If the Ghost sensed even a trace of doubt, it would be on him in a second and would never submit to his will. Slowly, he sunk deeper into himself, the deep breaths relaxing him. The power within him began to unfurl, and as it did he became more aware of Dusknoir and Gengar's thoughts, murmuring in the back of his mind.

"Time to go," he said, eyes opening.

He unwrapped the Pokéball and tossed it into the seal, setting his jaw as it burst open the moment it hit the ground. When the Haunter emerged, the air grew hazy before Morty's eyes with etheric energy. As his mind opened to the Haunter, he was flooded with a chaotic swirl of emotions and thoughts, each one more painful than the last, more disturbing. It was impossible to focus on one single thought, each one whirling by too fast for him to even comprehend it before it was gone.

The Haunter began to fight then, slamming up against the glowing walls of his prison, gnashing at them. With each attempt to break free, the ground trembled, and Morty's jaw tightened when he saw the seal beginning to fade along the ground. He got to his feet quickly, gesturing at Dusknoir and Haunter to be ready as he drew another Pokéball out.

Before any of them could move, the seal shattered. Morty hurled the ball towards the Haunter, but it bounced harmlessly away. Red eyes spun to face him, and then his vision went dark.

-.-

"You've done quite well," Gardenia said as Falkner emerged from the forest and into the clearing that held her battle arena. "Heal your Pokémon before we battle, there's a station right there."

Falkner nodded his thanks and headed for the small machine against the far wall. It had been a breeze getting through Gardenia's students, and he probably could've faced her without a round of healing, but it was better to play it on the safe side. "Thank you."

"Some Leaders don't like letting their opponents have a moment to catch their breath," she said, crouching down to pick a stray flower of the ground by her feet. As Falkner headed back to his spot on the arena, she tucked into her hair and flashed him a smile. "I think it's just silly to try and fight trainers with an unfair advantage. Now, let's fight."

Tailow fluttered down in front of him. Gardenia sent out a Cherubi, a small pink Pokémon that Falkner had faced earlier on.

"Tailow, use Peck!"

Tailow swung in before the Cherubi could move, dealing her a harsh blow before winging up away.

"Cherubi, Leech Seed!"

The small Pokémon was quick to respond, and as Tailow landed a little ways away from her, he was covered in the life sucking seed. He shivered as his energy was sapped into the ground, and Cherubi radiated with a burst of light briefly as she regained health.

"Tailow, Quick Attack, don't let her catch you again!"

Tailow obeyed and got another hit in, followed by a Peck before Cherubi could retaliate. Gardenia opened her mouth to shout another command, but stopped, head tilting to the side as she looked over Falkner's shoulder. Falkner turned, surprised to see Morty's Gengar flying towards him. It came to a halt in front of him, and then beckoned in an almost panicked manner to follow after him.

"Uh, I'm so sorry about this," Falkner said. "It's my mentor's Pokémon so I should probably go see what's wrong."

Gardenia frowned. "Here, I'll come with you. Did he know you were taking the challenge?"

"Yeah, he knew," Falkner said, grabbing Tailow and placing the small bird on his shoulder. "And he was doing something slightly dangerous today so...I'm sorry. We can have that fight again."

"Don't worry," the woman said. She grabbed his hand and tugged him along faster. "If he's in danger, you should probably walk a little bit faster."

-.-

Falkner started back as Gengar led them through the forest, pulling back a tree branch the reveal a clearing. Morty was restrained by glowing white chains that spiraled up from the ground, tight around his wrists with a collar shackled around his neck. But it wasn't containing Morty, rather the darker shadow that seemed to be hulking inside him, barely visible but undeniable. On either side of him hovered his Gengar and Dusknoir, both looking worried if such a thing was possible.

"Morty, of Ecruteak," Gardenia said quietly. "Go Roserade, Torterra."

"You know each other?" Falkner asked.

"We've met. Do you know what's happened to him?" Her gaze was hard.

"No idea. He was experimenting with a...a new type of Ghost Pokémon so I'm guessing something went wrong," Falkner said. "What should we do?"

Morty tugged at the chains, eyes suddenly opening to reveal pure white, his pupils gone. As they watched, his feet began to fade away, a little bit at a time, almost as though he were turning into a Ghost.

"That's a very good question. Roserade, Vine Whip!"

"Tailow, protect Morty!" Falkner shouted, and Tailow rushed to obey, taking the powerful Pokémon's attack directly.

Falkner's heart clenched as Tailow was sent flying through the air to land in a bush. Setting his jaw, he called out Pidgeotto and Pidgey, glaring at Gardenia. "You will not hurt Morty. Don't think I'll let you get through me."

"I'm not trying to hurt him," Gardenia hissed. "But this situation doesn't look nice and there's no way I'm letting him get free if it means he'll be a danger to the city. Besides, do you see his Pokémon freaking out? Maybe the only thing we can do is hurt him, distract the Pokémon trying to take control."

Falkner bit his lip, glancing over at Morty's convulsing form. He had faded away to his knees. When he looked at Dusknoir, the Pokémon merely crossed its arms and stared back at him, an obvious sign that he wasn't going to do anything. "Okay, we'll do this your way. Next time, warn me. Tailow?"

A feeble chirp emerged from the bush as the Tailow tumbled out, hurt but definitely alive. Falkner rushed over and helped him up onto his shoulder once more, then turning to face Morty's possessed form. "I'm sorry Morty."

-.-

Morty stretched as sunlight streamed in through his bedroom window, playing with the light blue strands of Falkner's feather like hair. The younger was curled up beside him, worrying his lip even in his sleep. Smiling, Morty ducked his head and kissed him, sucking the injured lip into his mouth and giving it a light suck.

Falkner gave a soft noise, eyes fluttering open before breaking away and smiling up at him. "Good morning, Morty."

"Hey. You busy today?"

Falkner chuckled, rolling out of bed. "I'm busy every day. You're lucky I decided to sleep in so late when I have a gym to run."

Morty frowned, realizing for the first time that Falkner was...taller than he remembered. Not by much, just an inch or so, but his bare chest was well muscled in a way he wasn't used to seeing. Was he...dreaming?

"Falkner, since when did you run a gym?"

Falkner put a hand on his hip, dropping the shirt he had been about to tug over his head. "Jeeze, Morty. Did you lose your memory or something?" He gave a smile and finished dressing, not noticing Morty's confused expression.

He was about to question further, but something slipped over him and he dismissed his disturbed thoughts. He could remember now, Falkner winning the Sinnoh League challenge and coming home a winner. How could he have forgotten it in the first place?

Morty rolled out of bed, slipping his arms around Falkner's waist from behind and kissing his neck. "Sorry, must be still asleep or something."

"Yeah well hurry and wake up. I heard your mother mention something about wedding plans," Falkner said, turning in his grasp and giving him a kiss, deep and wet.

"Uh, wedding plans?" Morty asked.

Falkner rolled his eyes. "Now you're just messing with me. Our wedding plans, for next week. We're getting married? You proposed to me at the Burned Tower, remember?" He stepped back and flicked Morty lightly on the forehead. "I'll see you later tonight."

Before Morty could summon up a response, Falkner was out of the room. Marriage? When had that happened? He couldn't...wait, of course. He remembered taking Falkner to the foot of the Burned Tower and having a picnic, surprising him with a ring among the chocolate covered strawberries he had brought for dessert.

_What's with me? Forgetting everything like that,_  he thought as he dressed.

He left the room, heading to the large living room he knew he would find his mother in. She was sitting on the couch, knitting of all things. He remembered calling her old when he found out she had picked up such a tame habit, but she had just smiled and said her bones were getting old and she couldn't keep running around like he did.

Her straw colored hair was laced with silver, her smile accented by wrinkles as he sat down next to her. It had been awhile since he had seen her eyes so bright. When the plague had happened, she had been so worried all the time, but when he and Falkner came back, well, it was like they had brought life back with them.

"So," she said, setting her knitting aside. "I went searching in the attic last night and was able to find the robes your father wore at our wedding. I think they'll suit you just f-"

A shudder rolled through him, the image of his mother distorting as the ground beneath them rumbled. She was completely still, her mouth frozen around the words she had been speaking just a moment earlier.

"Mother?"

"-And your sister is helping Falkner find the robes his father wore as well. It would be quite fitting if they could find them," she said. "But I have a few more things to take care of. Why don't you go speak with your brother?"

"Where can I find him?"

"Where you always do this time of year, darling," she said, frowning. "Don't you remember?"

Morty frowned as well, straining to remember. "Oh yeah. Today is when...when Father died. I can't believe I forgot. I should go see him, see if he's alright."

"Yes, your brother could use the company.

Morty stood and headed out of the family compound, waving at cousins he had known all his life, mentally listing the facts he knew about them to make sure his memory was still in order. Why did he feel so weird? Maybe he hadn't gotten enough-

The ground shook again, pieces of the roofing tumbling down to land at his feet and crumble into dust. With a frown, he prodded it with his foot, staring at it in confusion as it evaporated into the air. He looked back to the roof, surprised to see whole chunks missing with cracks lancing their way up and down. When he turned back, his cousin, Amala, was standing beside him.

"Oh hey, Morty," she said, her smile bright.

"Do you think we should be worried about the roof?" he asked.

Amala tilted her head to the side, frowning. "I don't see anything wrong with it."

Morty looked again. The roof was perfectly fine. Shrugging, he continued on his way, passing through the gates to the Burned Tower with ease once he flashed the pendent of his clan that was pinned to his shirt. As he walked, the ground trembled, weak shudders. Trees fell, barring his path, and fear began to slip around the edges of his mind. He felt like he should be more concerned by the actions taking place around him, yet he couldn't bring himself to care.

Past the Burned Tower laid the family graveyard, rows upon rows of headstones, the oldest at the front. He continued back, passing through the generations as he did so. Nimbly, he jumped over a huge tear in the ground, not paying the twisted roots of trees, or the barren white bones exposed beneath, any attention.

Finally, he arrived at his brother's side, staring down at the grave of his Father. Another shudder passed through him, and something screamed at the back of his mind that this was familiar, but wrong. So wrong. What was it?

"Glad you could join me," Asher said, nudging Morty with his elbow.

"Yeah...yeah," Morty said, turning to look up at him.

Asher's eyes were glazed over with a white mist, his cheeks sunken, and his straw colored hair limp as it feathered around his chin. A moment later, his face was back to what Morty once knew, a strong jaw, full cheeks, eyes bright and happy. What he once knew...back when he had been a child, young, his brother only just 17.

"Asher...what's going on?"

"Good question," he said. "You've noticed the distortions of this reality. But what will you do?"

The ground rocked beneath them, and when Morty looked up, cracks were lancing their way across the sky, chunks falling down around and shattering like glass. Morty backed away.

"Asher, this...you're dead."

Asher glared at him. "You always did want me dead, didn't you? So you could have the House title for yourself, be the one to inherit everything."

"What? No! I never wanted that, Asher!"

Asher lunged forward, hands twisting in the fabric of Morty's shirt. "Don't lie to me little brother. It's your fault, the plague, everything. You called it upon us, didn't you?"

"No, I would never do that," Morty said, stumbling back and out of Asher's grip. "Asher, I'm confused. What's going on?"

"What's going on?" Asher sneered, his voice a cruel mockery of Morty's own. "You're pathetic. A power hungry, pathetic excuse for a Gym Leader. I can't believe you."

"Asher..."

More of the sky fell around them, the dust of the shattered pieces layering until it was up to their shins.

"You can make it stop," Asher said, holding out his hand. "I've told you the truth, but you can ignore it, ignore what's inside you, the darkness within. Just take my hand, Morty. I can make it all go away."

"What truth? You haven't said anything that makes any sense!" Morty shouted.

Asher's violet eyes flashed with anger, and his outstretched hand lashed forward to smack him. "Everything I've said is the truth. You know it, too. Deep down in your heart, you always wanted to be Gym Leader, more even if you had the chance. But I was in the way. You were jealous of me, jealous that I was going to inherit the position. You prayed every night that something would happen, something to make Father understand you were better."

Morty looked away. "Yeah but I didn't want you to die. I didn't want anyone to die!"

"That doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. You have all the power you want now, and it's nice, isn't it? If you had to do it over...you would let us die again. If it meant you could be powerful, you'd sacrifice everything," Asher said, crossing through the ash and shattered glass, now up to their knees. "Isn't that right?"

"No! You're wrong!"

Asher stepped back once more, expression hardened. "Then take my hand, Morty. Insist that I'm wrong and take my hand. I can make it all go away."

"What go away?"

"The truth. You can ignore all the horrible dark parts of your soul, never have to remember any of it. You can marry Falkner, have your gym, all of it. You'll never have to think about the horrible things you did," Asher said.

"The things I did...like cause the plague?" he asked, staring at Asher's hand. "I mean...I always knew I did, deep down. It had to be me. I wished that I could be powerful, then the plague happened and...and I became stronger."

"Yes, Morty. It was all your fault, all of us dying," Asher said. "The guilt burns you inside, I know it does. But I'll make you forget."

The ash pooled at their ribs now, soon it would overtake Asher's hand.

"I won't ever feel guilty again? I'll...be happy?"

"I can change your reality. I'll erase the true one, and you can be happy," Asher whispered. "Just take my hand, Morty."

Morty swallowed thickly. "I can't. I'm not going to hide."

Asher frowned, not the cruel expression Morty had seen before. He was sad. His older brother was sad. "You're going to experience a lot of pain out there. Don't break. Don't let anything break you."

"But...you hate me. I killed all of you," Morty said, his voice quiet.

"I could never hate you. I love you, Morty. I always will," Asher said, offering him a smile, comforting, soothing.

The ash was at his chin now, Asher's hand long ago smothered. The ground began to shake harder, the white and blue ash practically raining down upon them, filling his nose, his mouth, obscuring his brother from view once more, clogging his eyes. He wanted to scream, but when he took a breath, it was filled with the ashes of the sky. It bit into his skin, his lungs, tearing him from the inside out. A roaring filled his head, the roaring of something monstrous and dark.

It was not his own darkness. It was something else, something on the outside begging to be let in.  _No. No one controls me. No one._

-.-

Falkner fell to his knees as the chains snapped and Morty broke free. But instead of raging towards them, Morty collapsed, the mutated Haunter rising up out of his crumpled form.

"Torterra, Vine Whip! Roserade, Solar Beam!"

The two attacks hit the Haunter simultaneously, stunning it for a moment. Falkner ran then, not to Morty, but to the fallen Pokéball and knotted cable that had held the ball closed in the first place. With a short cry, he threw the ball at the Pokémon, then jumped on top of it, wrapping one hand firmly around it as it wiggled and jerked in his hand. Panting, he wrapped the cable around it, knotting it a few times before letting to fall to the ground, eyes dilated and heart racing.

Morty groaned beside him, and Falkner turned to look at him. Pidgeotto and Pidgey were prodding at his groaning form, and eventually he sat up, running a hand down his face as he did so.

"Morty!" Falkner hurled himself at the other Trainer, wrapping his arms tight around his neck. "Are you okay?'

"Falkner, get back!" Gardenia ordered.

Falkner jerked away, thinking that maybe Gardenia had noticed something about the Ghost Trainer, but when he looked, Morty was offering him a weak smile and extending a hand for Falkner to help him stand.

"Sorry for giving you a fright," Morty said. "Things got a little out of hand."

Gardenia grabbed Falkner's wrist and hauled him up and back, and for the first time, Morty's eyes lighted on her. "If I had known you were his mentor, I wouldn't have rushed to save you, believe me."

"I'm glad you did, but forgive me for not saying thank you," Morty said, his glare just as intense.

"Morty," Falkner said, slipping in between the two as Morty got to his feet. "What happened?"

"The Haunter broke my restraints, tried to possess me," Morty said. "I got free, but I don't think I would've noticed if you guys hadn't been working from the outside."

Wincing, he looked down to see that his shirt was torn up and bloodied from Gardenia and Falkner's attacks, though nothing was severe enough to warrant immediate concern. Falkner was already reaching into his pack for bandages though and he tugged off his shirt when Falkner ordered him to.

"And what exactly were you doing with such a dangerous Pokémon so close to my city?" Gardenia asked, striding towards him. "You could've caused a danger to the people I protect-"

"But I didn't, because I was smart enough to install safety measures to restrain me if I did get possessed," Morty said, not at all intimidated by the other leader. "I wasn't going to let anyone die."

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't take that...Pokémon if you can even call it that, away from you right now!" Gardenia snapped her fingers, Torterra and Roserade at her side in barely a moment.

Dusknoir and the two Gengar's moved in as well, and Pidgey and Pidgeotto got ready to attack, waiting for Falkner's command. Morty held his hand up, somehow looking more powerful, bloodied and hunched, than Gardenia did standing straight and tall.

"I have Lance's permission to have this Pokémon in possession. If you recall the incident in Lavender Town, there were reports of mutated Ghost Pokémon. This is one of them, and I'm doing what I can to tame it," Morty said.

"Probably to gain more power," Gardenia hissed, advancing on him. "Who will you kill this time, hm Morty?"

"That was an accident," Morty said, voice low.

"Accident my ass. Other people might believe that, but I won't," Gardenia said. "I know what I saw."

"He was dead when I got there," Morty said.

Falkner kept his mouth shut during the exchange, knowing that if he said anything, both of them would stop immediately and he wouldn't be able to learn anymore.

"So you just let that  _thing_ ," Gardenia gestured at the Dusknoir, "Suck his soul out? Yeah, seems fine. No foul play at all. I know just as well as you do that Ghost Pokémon get stronger feeding on the dead, but it's illegal for Ghost Trainers to allow that."

"If you recall, he was not in my possession at the time," Morty said.

"Oh? You were keen to attack him after though, weren't you? So you could catch a stronger version," Gardenia was toe to toe with him now. "I want you out of my city, now, and I don't want to see you around here again."

"Yes ma'am," Morty said. "But my apprentice still has a badge to get, or am I wrong?"  
"We never finished our battle," Falkner said, hurrying forward to start patching Morty's wounds haphazardly.

"Take the badge," Gardenia said, fishing out a small box from her pocket and hurling it at them.

Morty caught it easy, eyebrows lifted. "I guess we'll see you later then, Gardenia."

"No, you won't," Gardenia said. "And Falkner, if you know what's good for you, find a new mentor. Unless you want to become his next  _accident._ "

"I think I can make my own choices," Falkner said. "Leave, Gardenia."

The Grass Trainer gave them one last withering look before disappearing into the forest with her two Pokémon flanking her. Once they were out of sight, Morty folded forward into Falkner's grip, trembling and shaking.

"Morty?" Falkner asked, lowering them both slowly to the ground. "Morty, what's wrong?"

Tears were splashing hot and wet on his neck, but it seemed Morty was done with speaking, so Falkner held him until he had cried himself out, then helped him into a new shirt Morty had in his own pack. Before he could suggest where they start walking to, Morty grabbed his hand and tugged him along, their Pokémon flocking after them. He didn't speak for a long time.

-.-

"Going to tell me what happened?" Falkner asked. They had stopped in a small hotel halfway between Eterna and Hearthome City, Morty's body protesting and unable to walk anymore.

So now they were sitting on the bed with Falkner cleaning out the wounds again and re-bandaging them, worrying his bottom lip as he looked into Morty's eyes. They were dull, lost in thought. Giving a huff of breath, he prodded one of Morty's cuts, hoping the flash of pain would be enough to knock the man out of his stupor.

It was, and Morty gave him a guilty look. "Sorry."

"I just want you to talk to me," Falkner said. "I hate seeing you like this..."

Morty frowned. "She's right you know. You're better off finding someone else to help you. I'm not who you think I am."

"Is what she said true?" Falkner asked. He cut off the bandage and rolled it back up, tucking it away. "Did you let a man die so you could have a more powerful Pokémon?"

"Yes."

"And how old were you?" Falkner asked, his voice brisk as he took care of the bag and went about packing things away for the night. "Twelve, thirteen? What?"

"Eleven."

Falkner nodded. "You were young, and alone, and your only friends were your Pokémon. You needed to be powerful because everyone underestimates a scrawny kid and you needed to prove them wrong. You can't be mad at your younger self for trying to protect himself in his own way."

"I could've saved that man," Morty said.

"You were eleven! Cut yourself some slack, Morty. I'm not trying to say you did the right thing, because you most definitely didn't, but allow yourself to be free of guilt because you were stupid and didn't know better!" Falkner glared at him, wishing there was some way he could get his point across but not knowing quite how to do so.

Morty was staring at him though like he understood what Falkner was saying, that maybe he even believed what he was being told, and that was certainly an improvement. Falkner sat down on the opposite bed, letting Tailow hop down and curl up on the pillow.

"But that's not the only thing, is it?" Falkner said. "Something else is bugging you."

"Since when did you get to be so perceptive?" Morty asked, flopping back on the bed, forearm covering his eyes. "Something happened when that Haunter took me over. Divine intervention, hallucinations...not sure. Either way, it was disturbing."

"How could divine intervention be disturbing?"

"I saw my brother. He told me some ugly things I didn't want to hear but I know they're true. He said if I wanted to ignore it...I could. I think if I had, I would've ended up being consumed." Morty's voice was low and strained. "When I realized I wanted to...live with my guilt I figured out what was going on and was able to push the Haunter out of my mind."

"What was it like?" Falkner could see a flush creeping up Morty's neck, and he tilted his head to the side.

"It was...like my dreams had come true. My mother was alive, most of my family...you had completed your challenge and were a gym leader. I noticed something was wrong but then...I stopped caring. I noticed things were wrong again later. I think that had something to do with you and Gardenia attacking me. The world started to crumble and fall apart," Morty said. "I found my brother and he accused me of..."

Falkner stood up and crossed the space between them, sinking down onto the bed beside him and wrapping his arm around Morty's waist. Morty turned into the embrace, tucking his face into Falkner's neck. "What, Morty?"

"I've always been a power hungry brat. Everyone knew it. I wanted to be Gym Leader, but my brother was the heir, and he was stronger than me so naturally, it made sense that it would go to him. I wished a lot that my father would realize that I was better, stronger, smarter than he could ever be." Morty's voice was soft and Falkner had to strain his eyes to hear him. "Then the plague came and started killing people and I knew it was because I had called on some dark power, some power that decided to actually listen to me."

"Morty, it's something else, it wasn't you," Falkner said. "You have to understand that."

"You can't say that for sure," Morty said, shaking his head into Falkner's neck. "When I took my challenge in the Hoenn League, I learned just how far I would go, how far I would still go for power. If I could do it over again, I'd let my family die because it got me to where I am now."

Falkner swallowed thickly. He hadn't expected...that. He knew Morty missed his brother, from the way he talked about him, he knew Morty wished his brother were still alive.

"You miss you brother, don't you?" Falkner asked.

"Yes, of course," Morty said. "But I like where I am now."

"Obviously you don't, if you're moping around like this," Falkner said. "Stop saying you would give up your family just to gain a little more power. I know that's not true, and you shouldn't listen to whatever your brother said, divine intervention or not. You aren't a bad person, Morty, and I hate people who try and convince you that you are."

"You don't understand," Morty sighed.

"Apparently not," Falkner said. "But I still think I'm right. Now would you go to sleep already? You'll feel better in the morning."

Falkner shifted, drawing the covers over both of them before curling around Morty. He didn't know what to think. Morty was confusing on a variety of levels. He was compassionate and caring, but then claimed he didn't care, claimed he was selfish and was only in it for power. He knew Morty wanted to take down whoever had caused the plague, but he also thought he was to blame for the plague. Maybe this journey was less about revenge, and more of a way to assure himself that it wasn't his fault his entire family died.

Falkner reached over and turned the lamp out. He was convinced he was right, it was just a matter or proving the same to Morty.

-.-

Blue climbed on top of the rubble, ignoring the chills that ran down his spine as he did so. The purple mist that had flowed from between the cracks was mostly gone now, the only sign that it was still there being a low hissing sound. Marowak and Raticate were on either side of them but he could tell they wanted to run away once more.

He had a feeling that the answer to their problems laid at the bottom of the rubble, far beneath the tower, perhaps deeper than any of them had thought. Not for the first time, he wished Red was at his side, but no, it fell on his shoulders.

The plague had started once more after all. So far it was just contained to Lavender Town, but seven people had already fallen into comas and the entire town, Gym Leaders and all had been quarantined. No one was getting in or out until they all died off or until they were better.

"Marowak, Raticate, start moving the rubble, no protests," Blue ordered, reaching to his belt and calling out Tyranitar and Alakazam as well. "We only have a few days at best, and I want to be to the bottom of this."

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, I have two chapters for you guys because I forgot to update on here last time. Reviews are loved.

Gardenia fiddled with a pen as Fantina mused over what she had said. It had taken almost an hour to get the other women to set up a video chat correctly, but it was a matter that she wanted to discuss face to face, even if it was through a computer screen.

One of Fantina's fingers twirled a stray lock of purple hair around her finger as she picked her words. "If he has Lance's permission, we cannot stop him. He is not from our League, and Cynthia would not be able to override Lance. I do not know what you want me to do, as disturbing as all of this is to hear."

"You're a Ghost Trainer, Fantina! Can't you do anything to convince him to...stop what he's doing?"

Fantina sighed, leaning back in her chair. "I do not know, Gardenia. Morty is...I do not have his power. I do not know of another Ghost Trainer that has his power. He knows the dangers as well as I do and if he still insists on this...I doubt there is anything I can say to convince him otherwise."

Gardenia slammed an open palm down onto her desk. "This is getting out of control. Everyone has known he was a danger from the start. I don't know why the Hoenn League let him obtain membership in the first place."

"No one knows," Fantina said with a shrug. "But until Lance thinks he is a threat, we cannot move against him."

"And how many people is he going to have to kill before he's considered a threat?" Gardenia demanded.

"You have no proof he killed anyone, my dear," Fantina said. "The circumstances were questionable but I doubt he would have killed anyone for power. Despite what I have heard, I cannot believe he would. We are both Ghost Trainers. The value of life is something drilled in us from the very start."

"He didn't  _have_ any real mentoring," Gardenia said. "His family was all dead before he got the same training as you. Someone, or something, else taught him."

Fantina shrugged hopelessly. "I hear your words Gardenia, and to some degree, I share your fear, but I cannot do anything. I will speak with him when they arrive here. Speaking of that, how is the boy, Falkner?"

Gardenia brightened a bit. "He's a good trainer. Definitely new, but I think he has a lot of potential if he keeps up the good work. And gets away from Morty. There's no way that man is being a good influence on him."

"Perhaps it is better that he is with Morty then," Fantina said with a small nod. "If he is strong, and good, perhaps he has the ability to balance Morty out."

Gardenia rolled her eyes. "That implies that monster has the ability to care for anyone."

Fantina frowned. "Gardenia, your words are much too harsh. Is there something else that happened that you have not told me about?"

"No, I just...he gives me bad vibes," Gardenia said as she wrapped her arms around herself. "And that... _thing._  Fantina, that Pokémon...I've never seen anything like it. Have you even heard of a Ghost Pokémon possessing anyone like that before?"

"There are stories," she said. "But most are myths and legends. I cannot quite recall all of them completely. I will send a letter home to my family, and have them send some of the texts passed down in our line."

"Has the Indigo League asked you to go to Lavender Town?" Gardenia asked. "Maybe if you went there you could find out what happened."

"Did Morty not already visit?" Fantina asked. "If there was anything troublesome there, he would have noticed it."

"Can we really trust his judgment though?" Gardenia asked.

"Perhaps not, but I do not think the Indigo League would think kindly of us for overstepping our bounds," Fantina said. "For now, Gardenia, it is best if we leave this alone."

Gardenia shook her head. "Alright. But don't say I didn't warn you."

"I hope I will not have to."

-.-

The next morning found Morty pouring through his email on his laptop as Falkner packed his bag. Apparently, Blue had found something interesting, interesting enough to bother emailing him and asking for his help, and Blue wasn't exactly known for his ability to ask for anything, big or small.

"So where to now?" Falkner asked. He flipped the top of his bag shut, fixing the clasp so he wouldn't have to look up at the other.

"Not sure yet. It's a little out of order, but you might want to head straight for Hearthome and take on Fantina. It looks like my expertise might be needed back in Lavender Town."

When Falkner finally looked up, the man was sitting at one of the desks, typing at his laptop. "Really? You're just not going to talk about what happened yesterday? You're just going to go ditch me after I took care of you?" It was a bit of an immature thing to say, but the thought that Morty was so willing to up and leave him after everything they had just gone through was frustrating.

"I'm not  _ditching_  you," Morty said. He snapped the laptop shut. "They found more evidence towards what we're dealing with. They need me there to analyze what's going on."

"And I need you here to help me. You're not a very useful mentor if you run off like this," Falkner said, turning towards the window where Tailow was pecking at the window to be let back in. He hopped onto Falkner's shoulder. "It's not exactly like you're in the best shape to go deal with whatever's down there anyways."

Morty stumbled when he stood up, hand groping at his side as he headed towards Falkner's side of the room. "That may be true but if Blue's actually bothering to email me, it's important."

Falkner hid his disappointment by looking down at Tailow and running a finger over his head. "Well maybe I want you to stay here because I thought I was going to lose you."

"Well we can't always get what we want, can we?"

When Falkner looked up at him, Morty was staring back, worrying his bottom lip with an unreadable expression in his eyes. "I just...you scared me. And you're the closest thing to family I have and I almost lost you. So you running off again just worries me."

"I'm sorry, but it seems urgent. If I could stay, I would," Morty said. He stepped towards Falkner until they were right in front of each other. "Just head for Hearthome. It's a big city; you can keep yourself entertained if you need to. Fantina is the Gym Leader there. You can look up her team on any computer."

"And I get there how?" Falkner asked, raising an eyebrow.

Morty smiled, the most relaxed Falkner had seen him since before he challenged Gardenia. "Forgot you're like a lost puppy. It's not too far. There's a path through Mt. Coronet that people use as a trade route you can take. I'll be back tomorrow morning if all goes well."

"Alright." Falkner headed towards the door, leaning against it. "But can you promise me something?"

"Anything," Morty said.

"Don't do what you did before. Don't do something dangerous. I...need you around." His hand wrapped around the door handle, not quite pushing it open. "Can you promise me that?"

Morty nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow. You stay safe too. In fact..." He knelt by his park, searching through it before tossing a Pokéball at him. "That's Chandelure. She's nice, friendly. Call her out if you get yourself into trouble. And by that I mean trouble where your actual life is in danger."

Falkner stared down at the Pokéball, then back up at Morty. "Are you sure? Isn't this a little...much? And aren't I a little too weak to use her?"  
Morty straightened and walked over, gaze softening. "You said it yourself. You saved my life. You're stronger than you think. If you need to, you'll be able to handle her. And with everything that's going on, let's just say I feel a lot safer if you have protection."

Falkner shifted a bit closer, then wrapped his arms around Morty's waist and buried his face in the older's shoulder. "Thank you. Stay safe."

Morty's hands rested on Falkner's lower back, rubbing small circles with his thumbs. "You too. You're the closest thing to family I have, like you said. I wouldn't be very happy if you got yourself hurt." He pulled away and gave Falkner another smile that seemed to immediately ease his worry. "So let's both be careful, alright?"

Falkner nodded, then tugged at Morty's short to pull him back so he could kiss his cheek before darting back and opening the door. "I'll see you soon."

Morty smiled. "Yeah."

-.-

The path Morty had directed for Falkner to take was fairly easy. From what he had heard, Mt. Coronet was one of the most treacherous mountain ranges known, and no one had yet reached the top. A lot of Trainers had tried, sure, but none had come back. Crossing from Eterna to Hearthome did not require going over the mountain, but through it, along one of the trade paths. Trade by plane was becoming more and more popular, but it was still faster for cargo moving from Canalave to the east to just pass through the main range. Not many cargo planes could easily navigate the jagged peaks, or at least none Falkner had heard of.

Traveling alongside one of the caravans made Falkner feel all the safer, though he did join a few other Trainers in guarding the goods when feral Pokémon got a bit too curious. At the half-way point, the caravan came to a halt, and the driver climbed down with buckets of water for the laboring Tauros. Most of the Trainers continued on, not to be bothered with the slow speed of the caravan, but Falkner stayed. He had nowhere to be, not really.

"You can go on, son," the driver said, moving back to rummage through the caravan. "I don't need Trainers to protect me."

"It's fine. I don't really need to be anywhere so I might as well help," Falkner said, edging a bit closer.

"Well in that case, here."

Falkner nearly dropped the apple the older man lobbed over his shoulder. "Uh, thanks?"

The man turned, sitting down and biting into his own apple. "It's not much of a thanks, but I suppose it'll do. Come up and sit, you've been on your feet all day. The name's Dalan by the way. You?"  
"I'm Falkner." Falkner crawled up beside the older man, biting into his own apple and breaking off a piece for Tailow once he was settled. "Thank you."  
"You're not very talkative are you?" Dalan asked, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping the juice from the apple out of his brown beard.

"I guess not," Falkner said with a shrug. "This is my first time really going anywhere on my own."

"So you're just starting the challenge then?"

"Well yeah. Kind of. I'm taking over the Gym for my father," Falkner said, glancing over at him.

"Oh? What region?" The man stopped eating, turning his focus fully onto the younger.

"Johto."

"Ah, I took my challenge through there, twenty years ago! I started a bit late, and never got past Pryce. That man is quite the powerful Gym Leader. What Gym will be taking over, once you get through your own challenge?"

"The one in Violet City," Falkner said. "My father was Walker. He uh...passed away recently."

Dalan was silent for a moment, taking his time to chew another bite before looking over at him. "I'm sorry to hear that. But you'll do well, replacing him I think. Gym Leaders have to be Trainers willing to help the common man. They have to help those who cannot help themselves, and you're already doing that."

Dalan tucked away his apple core in a burlap bag at his feet before hopping down and taking the buckets away from the Tauros. Falkner quickly mimicked the actions, helping him stow the buckets back in the wagon before calling his Wingull back out to fight through the Rock Pokémon until they could emerge on the other side of the mountain.

And for the first time since he had left on his journey, Falkner felt as if he could contribute something to the world.

-.-

Morty jumped off Drifblim, recalling the Ghost Pokémon back into his Pokéball as Blue strode across the rubble towards him. "What did you find? Your email was a bit vague."

"I'm not sure what I found. Runes, I think, but I can't understand them," Blue said.

Lavender Town was already starting to come back to life, Pokémon Trainers and average citizens alike milling about and clearing out houses, and knocking down those that couldn't be repaired. But where the tower had once been was left untouched, the people giving the pile of rubble a wide berth. Blue's Tyranitar and Marowak guarded the area of rubble that had been dug out, revealing a tunnel deep down beneath the ground, past the basement level of the destroyed tower.

Blue passed him a flashlight. "Marowak has already secured the tunnel we dug out so it won't collapse on us. We're going to dig even deeper later, but I think the runes are something only you can read. The other Ghost Trainers around here say the runes are older than anything they've seen."

Morty flicked the flashlight on and followed after him. "I've been reading runes in Canalave recently, so hopefully I'll be able to help."

The purple smoke was thick, but once they rounded a corner in the tunnel, it didn't matter, for the runes glowed with a deep red light, pulsing a bit brighter before dimming at about every twenty seconds. Morty brushed his hand across them, recoiling at the flare of heat that radiated out when he did so.

"These are old runes, but they're just protection ones," Morty said as Blue's light flashed over a few more. "I would say they were meant to keep the Ghost Pokémon trapped inside but that doesn't explain why they were put so deep. Ghost Pokémon can't get around a barrier by trying to go underneath it, they don't work like that."

"Think Mr. Fuji would know?" Blue asked.

"I doubt it. He would've mentioned these if he knew about them," Morty said, moving further into the tunnel to look at a few more. "And these aren't your average protection runes either." He frowned, wedging his flashlight under his arm as he examined another rune. "I've never seen this one."

Blue stepped closer. "And what does that mean, exactly?"

"Runes come in a sequence, usually around ten runes, over and over again to create a barrier," Morty said. He tapped the space beneath one rune. "This is the last one in the sequence, a closer. The one before it identifies the being it traps inside. There's one for every Ghost Pokémon in existence, and they're the oldest runes that are still used today." He pointed at the unknown rune. "So, this is supposed to be the identifying rune but I've never seen it before."

"That's all fascinating but what do we do about it?" Blue asked.

"Keep digging I guess," Morty said. "See how deep this goes, but whatever you do, don't break any of the runes."

Blue looked skeptical when Morty looked back at him. "It's pure chance I didn't break these up when Marowak and Tyranitar started digging. How do you suggest I go deeper without accidentally ruining them?"

"Keep following the path, you've got the walls on either side," Morty said, gesturing. "Start from the floor. The runes should be along the same line on the walls. My guess is if you dug a bit deeper, you'd hit an actual floor instead of just dirt. I'm pretty sure we're in an old hall. If I were to guess, there used to be walls covering these runes, but between the earthquake, your digging, and just plain time, they've worn away and left the runes behind. Keep following the path you made and you'll be fine."

"What do you think is down there?" Blue asked. "I want to get to the bottom of this as much as anyone else does, but I don't want to walk into something I'm unprepared for."

"Honestly? I don't know. Something no one has seen in a very long time. That's the only reason no one would know these runes," Morty said. It bothered him. He knew every identifying rune that had ever existed, including some only passed down through his tribe, but there was nothing familiar at all about the one on the wall. "I'll return to Canalave and pick up a few more tomes and try to find something more concrete but that's all I can do."

Blue nodded, but he didn't look satisfied. Morty didn't blame him. Together, they began to head back out, but as he turned, one of the injuries in his side sent a twinge of pain up his spine and made him stumble.

"Are you alright?" Blue asked as they emerged from the tunnel.

Morty brushed his hand against the bandage under the fabric of his shirt, and opened his mouth to answer only to be interrupted by a cleared throat. He looked up, not entirely unsurprised to see Sabrina standing before them.

"No, he's not, as he apparently just spent a good amount of time getting his ass handed to him by a mutant Ghost Pokémon he's trying to control," Sabrina said. A slim purple eyebrow was crooked up as she looked at him. "Gardenia said you were out of control. She seems to think you're a threat. I can't imagine why, but she insisted I speak with you."

"Wait, what?" Blue came to stand between them, gaze flickering back and forth.

"One of the mutant Pokémon," Morty said. "I have it. I'm trying to learn what I can about it, it's nothing you need to worry about."

"You can't control those," Blue said, eyes narrowing. "They're monsters."

"And once upon a time, people said  _all_  Ghost Pokémon were monsters, and look how far we've come," Morty shot back, then turned back towards Sabrina. "So yes, I tried, but I overestimated my ability. The mistake won't happen again."

"She seems to think I should removed the Haunter from your care," Sabrina continued, arms folding across her chest. "I told her I'd talk to you, but I am in full support of you trying to figure out how to tame it."

"For what it's worth, I think I'm on your side as well, Morty," Blue said. "If you  _can_ control it...we're better off if this sort of thing happens again. I just don't think it's possible. What happened last time you tried to control it?"

Morty searched for the words that would make what happened not seem so bad, but in the end, all he could say was, "I got possessed. Falkner and Gardenia attacked me until it left my body and they could recapture it."

A harsh, short laugh escaped Sabrina's lips before she covered her mouth with her hand, eyes still alight with mirth. "Impressive, Morty. I thought one as powerful as you would be able to do more on your first try."

"It  _possessed_ you?" Blue demanded, shifting between Sabrina and Morty before the Ghost Trainer could bite back at her. "And you survived?"

"It wasn't so bad," Morty said. "I know what I'm doing, and I won't mess up again. So tell Gardenia whatever you want, Sabrina, I don't care."

"You'll just have to let me know what you find out, in the end," Sabrina said, her red gaze growing more serious as her eyes met his. "You can't hog all the power to yourself, that'd be selfish."

"This isn't a power struggle," Blue said. His tone was harsh as he glared at them both. "This is finding a way to protect people, not you two experimenting with things for your own selfish gains."

"I'm hurt that you would ever think me capable of such things," Sabrina said, her tone flat.

Blue shook his head as if to ward off his growing anger. "Yeah, I'm sure you are. But the safety of the people is more important than whatever you two are trying to do, so keep that in mind. Please."

"I'm not doing this for me," Morty said. When he looked at Sabrina, there was something unreadable in her gaze, but he ignored it and looked back at Blue. "Part of it is scientific curiosity I guess, but finding out how to control the mutated Pokémon might be key in controlling whatever ends up being down there."

Blue thought it over for a moment before nodding. "You're probably right. I'm just going to hope that there ends up being nothing underneath the damn tower."

"I'll hope with you," Morty said.

"You should get back to your charge," Blue said. "I'm sure he's floundering without you."

"He can handle himself just fine. He's older than you were when you first started out," Morty said.

Blue shrugged, then snapped his fingers at his Marowak and pointed towards the tunnel. "Get back to me on what you think is down there as soon as possible. I'll hopefully see you soon."

Once the other leader was out of sight, Sabrina stepped closer to Morty, her gaze filling with a twisted sort of amusement. "Oh, you hope there's nothing down there, do you? I think you're lying."

Morty placed his hands on her shoulders to push her back lightly. "I don't know why you'd think that. I have no reason to want something dangerous down there."

"Just like you have no reason to want a dangerous, mutant Pokémon in your arsenal?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"That's entirely different," Morty said. "If there's something down there, it isn't anything I want to tangle with. Believe me on that. I'm hoping those runes are just outdated and don't mean anything at all."

"I don't believe you," Sabrina said, edging back into his space. "I think you're like me. I think you want to know what's sleeping down there. You can't tell me you can't feel it? That you didn't feel it when you were down in that tunnel. It's radiating Psychic energy, dark, mutated energy. It fascinates you as it fascinates me."

"Yes, I'm  _fascinated_ , but I don't want it if it's going to lead to the harm of other people," Morty said, anger seeping into his voice as he glared at her. "I might share your lust for power, but there's a line I draw in the sand, and I won't cross it. I hope you have one too."

"Maybe I do, but I think you overestimate your ability to resist the lure," Sabrina said. "Don't worry though, I'll put in a good word for you to Gardenia. Assure her that you're no threat, and this conversation, and my suspicions that you'll stop at nothing for power...will remain with me."

She spun on her heel, giving a small wave over her shoulder. Morty shook his head and called out Drifblim. He'd have to stop home to look over some of the old family tomes, then Canalave to see if he could dig anything else up. And hopefully that'd be enough to force away the doubt Sabrina's words created.

-.-

Hearthome City was overwhelming, much like Jubilife had been. There was a lot of hype about the Pokémon contests, and given that it was only late afternoon, and there was still no word from Morty, Falkner decided to check it out. It was odd to see people so excited by Pokémon being paraded across the stage, but it did show him a lot of Pokémon he had never seen before.

It was when the final judging came around that he saw Fantina for the first time. She swept onto the stage in a flash of glitter and twirling lights, a folder with the score sheets in hand.

"Oh, she's so beautiful," a woman sighed beside Falkner. "I hear her dresses are all imported straight from Unova!"

"I wish I had that much money," the woman on her other side said. "But I guess when you're a Gym Leader you can afford that."

"That's Fantina?" Falkner asked.

The woman, somewhere around thirty or forty, glanced over at him, disbelief in her eyes. "Of course. What, have you been living under a rock? She's one of the best trainers to ever participate in the Super Contests. To win a competition she judges is one of the highest honors a trainer can get."

"What about getting a badge?" Falkner asked. "Wouldn't beating her in a battle be more...honorable than having her say your Pokémon is prettier than someone else's?"

He knew he had said something wrong from the scandalized look both women gave him, so instead of waiting for a response, he ducked his head and hurried out of his seat to leave the room. Apparently pretty and cute Pokémon were more important in Hearthome than Pokémon that could actually fight and protect, which made him wonder if a woman who achieved most of her fame through Super Contests was really powerful enough to be a Gym Leader.

"Hi! My name's Shelby, I'm a reporter for Channel 9, based out of Jubilife City. We're here at the Super Contest in Hearthome, where Fantina has just finished judging one of the most exciting contests of the year. I'm standing outside the main contest room now," a woman said, sliding up to Falkner and linking her arm tight with his.

Falkner's eyes widened before flicking the camera. "I don't-"

"Can you tell us who you were rooting for?" Shelby asked before shoving the microphone in his face.

"I don't even like these sorts of things," Falkner mumbled, gaze dropping towards the floor.

He couldn't almost feel the woman grow frigid beside him. "Oh. I see."

"Shelby, please do not harass poor innocent Trainers. The winner should be emerging soon, and if you were to hurry I am sure you can get the first interview," a soft, lilting voice said.

"Oh, Fantina! Thank you so much! Could we get a few words from you as well?"

Falkner turned to see the reporter shoving her microphone into the Gym Leader's face, practically thrumming with energy.

"Of course you may, but for now I have some things I need to take care of, as do you," Fantina said, smilingly pleasantly before stepping around her and coming to stand before Falkner.

Up close, Falkner could see she was covered in even more glitter than he initially thought. Her purple dress matched the shade of her hair and eye makeup perfectly, but instead of the overbearing and judgmental presence he had felt from everyone else in Hearthome, she instead soothed his anxiety with a warm smile and gentle hand curling around his elbow.

"You are Falkner, yes?" she asked as she led him through the main area towards a side exit of the hall. "I recognized you from the message we all received about your coming here. This all must be overwhelming for you."

"Uh, just a little bit," he said. The moment they were outside, he took a deep breath, inhaling the clean air to drive out the perfume filled smell that seemed to cling to his skin from the contests. "I didn't know you ran the Super Contests here."

"Oh not to worry," Fantina said, releasing his arm to move and stand across from him. "It seems frivolous to some, and I have had people question my choice to be such an active participant in them when I have the responsibilities of a Gym Leader, but not all Trainers are meant to do battle. Some bring out their Pokémon's strength in ways that they cannot through battle."

Falkner flushed at her knowing gaze and her words. "I'm sorry if it seemed as though I were judging what you were doing in there. To each their own I suppose, it just doesn't make any sense to me."

"Shall we head to the Gym?" Fantina asked. "We can talk more there, where there is less of a chance of us being accosted by more overly excited reporters." She gave a quick wink and a laugh, holding her arm out to him.

He linked his arm through hers and she rested her hand in the crook his elbow, leading him through the crowded streets towards the Gym. "I'm not really ready to fight you, just yet."

"That's alright. You must have been traveling all day to get here, I would not ask you to battle without some rest first," she said. "Where is Morty? I was under the impression that he was traveling with you."

"He had to head back to Kanto to look into some things at Lavender Town," Falkner said.

They paused for the automatic doors to the Gym to open and then Fantina led him through, guiding him to a side doorway that took them down a hallway and into an open sitting area, much as Roxanne had in Rustboro. "I see. Not exactly committed to you, is he?"

She sat down in a chair, gathering her billowing dress off to the side as Falkner sat down across from her. "He's a fantastic mentor, but the things in Lavender Town take precedence over my Gym Challenge." His voice was firm as he met her eyes. He wondered if he should be more worried about the way everyone seemed so against Morty training him, but he had a feeling that none of them knew Morty the way he did. None of them understood what the man was really like.

"Of course they do, and I would never suggest that he stay with you when there is such trouble there," Fantina said. "I just think that perhaps you are better off without him, if he has other commitments."

"You all seem to think that I should run away from Morty's influence," Falkner said. "But he's been nothing but helpful and caring. I don't know everything he did in the past, but I'm not going to sit here and let you throw him under the bus when you really know nothing about him."

"Well, you are nothing if not loyal, and that is admirable," Fantina said with a shrug. "I just want you to be careful. Do not blind yourself to the ambitions Morty has. You would only be setting yourself up for disappointment if you did."

"You know nothing about us," Falkner said.

"That is true," Fantina said, smiling once more. It was not as warm as before, and actually seemed a bit sad. "And I hope for your sake that the reputation he has built up for himself is nothing but smoke and mirrors."

"I think you shouldn't judge the actions of a scared little kid who just lost his whole family," Falkner said. "Everything I've heard from people...they judge his actions as though he were an adult when they met him, but he was just a kid."

"So you will stand by him?" Fantina asked. "Even if all the rumors about how he came into his power are true?"

"I can't say I know all the rumors, but I know Morty. I trust him more than I've ever trusted anyone else in my life, and that's just going to have to be good enough," Falkner said.

Fantina nodded. "I hope you are right then. I would hope people would not judge me for the things I did when I was younger. You have convinced me. I will allow this man to prove himself to me on what he does now, not what I heard he did in the past."

"Really?" Falkner asked, head tilting to the side.

Fantina smiled, a small chuckle escaping her lips. "Yes, really. We are Ghost Trainers, he and I. There are not many of us, so I think I at least owe him the benefit of the doubt, no?"

"Thank you," Falkner said. "It's nice to not have to...defend him over and over again. People seem to think he's corrupting me or something, and that's just not true. He's a good man."

"I guess I will see for myself, won't I?"

"Yeah. He'll...he said he'd be back tomorrow morning, and with everything going on in Lavender Town, he might want to talk to you too," Falkner said.

"I look forward to it. Perhaps you should go get some rest," she said. "Do you have a place to stay?"

"Yeah, I got a hotel room before I went and saw the Super Contest," Falkner said, getting to his feet. "Thank you for your hospitality, and for well, saving me from the reporter."

Fantina laughed, a full-hearted one this time. "Not a problem at all. I will see you tomorrow, Falkner. Rest up. I do not intend to go easy on you."

-.-

The beast took a deep breath. Released it. The runes pulsed. A steady rhythm, that grew faster and faster with every passing moment.

 


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, Morty still wasn't back. Falkner was tempted to wait around until he showed back up, but at the same time, he didn't want to look like he couldn't fight a Gym Leader without Morty's support. So, eventually, he pulled himself out of the hotel and headed for the PokéCenter.

Falkner remembered researching everything he could when he still had hopes of going on his own Pokémon journey, when he had still been interested. Before he had fallen. Due to the popularity of taking the Gym Challenge, PokéCenters were the most well maintained buildings, receiving more funding than the Gyms themselves. All the funding meant the computers most PokéCenters had were fast, and had access to a wider database on Gym Leaders than one could get from their own computer.

He sat down at one of the computers, logging on with the information Nurse Joy gave him earlier. Another trainer sat to his left, scribbling down notes in a notebook. He had a spike of black hair sticking into the air, but otherwise looked very well put together despite his young age.

"Are you fighting Fantina too?" Falkner asked as he clicked on the icon for the database.

"Yeah," the guy answered absentmindedly. He ran a hand through his hair, but it did nothing to put down the spike. "But how do you fight a Ghost Leader with Normal Type Pokémon?"

Falkner drew up Fantina's profile, giving it a quick scan. "Well, she has a Ghost-Flying type. If any of your Pokémon know Rock moves or Electric moves that'd be good. Or a Raticate that knows Crunch."

"That's great but her Haunter knows Brick Break. That's the real problem," the trainer said. He leaned back and finally looked over at Falkner. "Of course I have a Dark-Type Pokémon usually, but I'm taking my Gym Challenge to be a Leader. Again. I already beat Unova's, but that was with a balanced team, and they need a Normal-Type Leader."

Falkner smiled. "I'm doing the same, for the Johto Region. What's your name?"

The other trainer's hard demeanor relaxed a bit and he held out his hand. "Cheren. And you are?"

"Falkner," he said, shaking Cheren's hand. "This is my first challenge though. If you're fighting at a disadvantage, find a dual type that fits your needs. I had to do that earlier."

Cheren's eyebrows raised. "Of course. A simple solution I didn't think of. I have learned that I tend to look everywhere else first. It's a bit of a problem. Thank you though."

"No problem," Falkner said. "I suppose there's no real type advantage for me though. I'm a Flying-Type."  
"There are Dark-Flying types," Cheren said.

"Any I could catch around here though?" Falkner could only think of Murkrow, a type just recently found in Johto.

"Mmm, not that I know of actually," Cheren said. "I'm sorry. Perhaps we could train together though, before you try your challenge."

"I...if you already beat Unova's Challenge, I don't think that would be training so much as you thoroughly crushing me."

"I wouldn't use that team on you," Cheren said with a twisting of a smirk on his lips. "My current team would be much closer to your level."  
Falkner reached up to stroke a finger over Tailow's head, and then nodded. "Then sure. It couldn't hurt."

He followed the other trainer out the door and headed for the outskirts of town. Cheren glanced over at him as they walked.

"So you keep your Tailow out of a ball then?" he asked. "I have not seen many trainers do so, though there was a movement in Unova to release all Pokémon from their Pokéballs. It did not go over so well."

Falkner tried to remember hearing about any incidents in Unova, but nothing came to mind. Little was known about the Unova region, as they had only recently made contact with the other regions after a hundred years of isolationism. After a few economic treaties had been signed a year ago, trainers began to move in between the other regions and Unova for the first time in a century, but he couldn't remember much beyond that. He glanced back at Cheren.

"Um, I wouldn't release all of mine," Falkner said. Pidgeot was the first that came to mind that he intended to keep tucked away until it wasn't so ready to rip his throat out. "Especially since I can't control all of them just yet. I do let them out when I can though. Tailow just sort of adopted me, so I never bothered."

"Interesting," Cheren said. "I am not so sure I would be comfortable having mine out as much as you do, but perhaps I should rethink it. Your Tailow sure looks more pleased than others I've seen."  
Falkner shrugged, pausing as Cheren led them off the main road and into a small field. "I honestly couldn't tell you. You've got more experience than me and you're younger."

"Well, I got started early," Cheren said. He jogged down across the field to put a decent amount of space in between them before reaching to his belt to grab one of his Pokéballs. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, sure," Falkner said. "Go, Tailow."

Tailow gave a small chirp and fluttered off of his shoulder. Cheren threw the ball, releasing a Pokémon that looked like a cuter version of a Poochyena. Falkner glanced across the field at Cheren, head tilting to the side.

"What is that?"

"Ah, I forgot. You said you were from Johto. This is a Lillipup," Cheren said.

"How do you know so much about Pokémon here anyways?" Falkner asked.

Cheren gave a small twitch of a smile. "Talk later, for now, let's train. Lillipup, use Tackle!"

"Tailow, try and dodge and use Quick Attack!" Falkner said, reacting as quickly as he could. Tailow tried to do as ordered, but Lillipup managed to knock him off balance before he darted back and then slammed into Lillipup.

"Lillipup, use Tail Whip, follow up with a Bite!"

Lillipup whipped its tail against Tailow's small form, knocking him over before biting at his wings. Tailow managed to get away, leaving Lillipup with a mouthful of feathers.

"Tailow, Peck!" Falkner ordered. "Then pull back!"

Tailow did as ordered and then wheeled back out of Lillipup's range, only to have the Normal Type Pokémon chase after him.

"Lillipup, Bite again!"

Lillipup launched itself up into the air, fangs catching Tailow's tail feathers and sending him spiraling towards the ground. He landed, but it was rough and Lillipup managed to follow up with a Tackle before Tailow could regain his balance.

"Tailow, come back," Falkner said. He could still fight, but Falkner wasn't sure he was okay with wearing him down so much if he could help it. Once Tailow was safely resting on his shoulder, he sent out Pidgey.

"Lillipup, Tackle!"

"Pidgey use Gust!"

Lillipup lunged towards Pidgey but the Gust she used sent the small Pokémon reeling.

"Follow up with a Quick Attack!" Falkner said.

Pidgey darted forward and knocked the Lillipup back down before it could fully get back onto its feet. After a moment of lying on the ground panting, Cheren called it back and sent out another Pokémon, this one like a brown Rattata standing up on two legs.

"Patrat, use Work Up, follow it up with a Bite!" Cheren ordered.

Patrat darted around, dodging one of Pidgey's attacks that Falkner ordered, before running in and giving a harsh bite to Pidgey's belly. She squawked and fluttered away.

"Pidgey, Gust," Falkner said, as Patrat tried to dart in again.

She beat her wings hard, knocking Patrat back before taking to the air to flutter back a bit more. Patrat was only slightly thrown off and began to head back in to attack again.

"Pidgey, Quick Attack!"

"Patrat, Detect!"

As Pidgey moved in, Patrat curled up on itself, a barrier resurrecting between them at the last second so that Pidgey could only bounce harmlessly back. Pidgey hopped away as Patrat uncurled.

"Pidgey, Gust!"

"Patrat, Bite!"

Patrat moved faster than Pidgey, getting a good attack in before Pidgey sent him flying once more from the strength of her own attack.

"Follow it up with a Quick Attack!" Falkner ordered.

Pidgey obeyed, knocking Patrat down once more. After a moment, Cheren called him back, and then smiled at Falkner.

"Good job. I'm impressed," Cheren said. "You didn't recognize them, but you did well adjusting to the style of their attacks."

Falkner rubbed the back of his neck as Cheren began to approach him. "You should've seen me a few weeks ago. I was awful."

"That's what training is for. I think you're going to be just fine. I need to get to know my new Pokémon better I think," Cheren said. "So, you seemed like you had some questions before we battled. Shall we talk over an early lunch?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," Falkner said. He was a little surprised Cheren still wanted to hang out with him, but it was a nice change from being around Morty the whole time. He hadn't had any friends growing up, especially after his fall, so it was different to talk with someone like Cheren.

"I believe you asked how I knew so much about your Pokémon," Cheren said as they walked. "The answer is quite simple. Despite the fact that Unova was an isolationist region, we did not totally block contact. We were able to access the Internet and the databases on all Pokémon, though we were incapable of communicating much with people from other regions until the boundaries finally opened up."

Falkner frowned. "That's not fair. You got to know all about us and we just had to wonder."

Cheren gave a short chuckle. "I honestly don't know much about the politics behind it all. I never really cared honestly, though I'm sure you could find information on it."

Cheren led him through Hearthome until they reached a small café near the PokéCenter they had met at. It was a seat yourself, so they grabbed a table by the window and waited to be served.

"I wouldn't mind going to Unova one day, if I could," Falkner said. Sinnoh and Hoenn were already fun to explore, and he certainly wouldn't mind exploring a mostly unexplored region. "But after this, I'm going to have to go back to my Gym. Maybe one day though."

Cheren leaned back in his chair. "You could always take some time off. Kanto is right next to Johto, isn't it?"

"They're separated by a mountain range, but otherwise, yes," Falkner said. "Do you plan on heading up there on your way back to Unova?"

"Perhaps, if I have time," Cheren said. "My Gym is still being constructed, so I have some time to spare I believe. I was wondering though. The collapsing of Lavender Town has been in the news lately."

Falkner glanced down at the table. "Yeah, my mentor has been dealing with a lot of what's been going wrong there. He's been flying back and forth."

"Is he also a Flying Type trainer?" Cheren asked.

"No. He uses Ghost Types," Falkner said. "He left one of his Pokémon here, since I was going to be on my own. I didn't recognize the name though, so maybe you'll know it. It's a, uh...Chandelure. I thought it was from the Sinnoh region."  
Cheren's eyebrows rose. "No. That's from Unova. Is your mentor from Unova?"

"No, he's from Johto too," Falkner said, a bit surprised. "But he's one of the best Ghost Trainers. Maybe...well, I don't know." He shrugged as their waiter arrived, taking their orders for sandwiches and drinks.

"I'd like to meet him if he returns before I leave," Cheren said. "If anything, he'd have interesting stories to tell I'm sure."

"That would be an understatement," Falkner said with a grin.

Cheren was good company, and they spent an hour talking over their meal before finally parting ways, Cheren mentioning that he wanted to do some more training before he took Fantina on. Falkner debated hanging around to try and get word from Morty, but in the end, finally headed for Fantina's Gym.

The outside, like always, belied the inside. The inside of the gym was built like a church, high arches and stained glass windows along the ceiling that hadn't been visible on the outside, and torches along the walls. White paint along the stone floor marked out the battlefield, and on the other side was Fantina, in a bright blue dress just as extravagant as her purple one from the day before.

"I was wondering when you would stop by, Falkner," she said, smiling warmly. "Shall we duel?"

"Uh, yeah," Falkner said. He held his finger out for Tailow to step out onto. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

"Good." She reached back to one of the buns that held her lilac hair in check, unclipping a Pokéball from one of the yellow hair ties. "Go, Drifblim!"

Falkner tried to remember what he knew about Morty's Drifblim. It wasn't as fast as the other Ghost Types, but it could do some serious damage too. Tailow's superior speed would be useful.

"Tailow, close in and use Peck!"

"Drifblim, Astonish!"

The Drifblim's drifting arms twitched, and the next instant, Tailow was pin-wheeling through the air. He righted himself and zipped back in, beak pecking at the flimsy exterior before flapping back up.

"Close in with a Quick Attack and follow up with a Wing Attack!"

Tailow flew up to gain some altitude, then used a Quick Attack, tumbling through Drifblim's transparent form before whirling around and nailing the larger Pokémon with a strong blow of his wings. Drifblim rocked back and turned to face Tailow.

"Drifblim, hit him with an Ominous Wind. Do not let him escape!"

"Tailow, try and dodge!"

Tailow flew up into the air again, but a heart beat later, a harsh, dark wind radiated out from Drifblim's bulky form, sending Tailow spinning disoriented through the air. When he righted himself out once more, Fantina already had Drifblim readying another round.

"Tailow, use Quick Attack to take shelter inside Drifblim, then use Peck!"

Tailow obeyed, and Falkner was actually surprised at the timing. The moment after Tailow was inside the Drifblim's thin exterior, the Ominous Wind radiated out, missing him entirely. Tailow's Peck hit a moment later, and the balloon like skin popped, sending Tailow skidding across the ground.

Falkner stared as the balloon fluttered to the ground, a clump of purple mist hovering above it. Fantina called it back, and he let out a sight of relief as the balloon repaired itself, covering the mist back up before being absorbed into the Pokéball.

"Not bad, but let us see how you deal with this," Fantina said. "Go, Gengar!"

Falkner left Tailow on the field, confident he could take a few more hits before he had to take the small bird back in. "Tailow, use Peck!"

"Gengar, Confuse Ray!"

Tailow darted in, but then recoiled as the Gengar emitted a yellow ray of light. Tailow fluttered to the ground, head twitching every which way.

"Tailow come back," Falkner said, biting the inside of his cheek in frustration. Tailow hopped his way back, and Fantina allowed him to take his time with a smug expression. Once Tailow was safely on Falkner's shoulder, he sent out his Pidgey. "Pidgey, use Gust."

"Gengar, Confuse Ray!"

Pidgey flapped up at just the right time, the rays missing her by a good foot as she pumped her wings to send the gust of wind at the Ghost Pokémon. Gengar barely looked bothered by the attack.

"Gengar, Poison Jab."

"Pidgey, use Quick Attack to dodge, then another Gust!"

The Gengar bounced up, its fist just nicking Pidgey as she flew through it and tumbled out the other side, flapping her wings to build up another gust of wind. Afterwards, she stumbled a bit to the side, and Falkner's gut tightened. If she was poisoned, he wasn't sure they could out last the Gengar.

"Pidgey, use Sand Attack, then come back!"

Pidgey turned, kicking up dust and flapping her wings until Gengar was covered in a cloud of it. Before she could feel the effects of the poison, Falkner called her back into her Pokéball before sending Pidgeotto out.

"Gengar, Poison Jab!"

"Pidgeotto, use Double Team, then hit him with a Twister!"

Pidgeotto began to dart around Gengar's head, the Ghost Pokémon's poisonous punch missing completely, before he was lifted off the ground by Pidgeotto's attack. When he dropped back down to the ground, he didn't get back up, and Fantina called him back.

"Mismagius, finish them off!"

Falkner's eyes widened at the looming Ghost Pokémon, having never seen it before. He hadn't recalled seeing it in the database, but then, he had been a little bit distracted when he was looking.

"Pidgeotto, use another Double Team."

"Mismagius, hit him with a Psybeam!"

Before Pidgeotto could move, Mismagius had let loose a rainbow pulse of light that sent Pidgeotto spiraling through the air, almost crashing into the ground before he caught himself.

"Use Twister," Falkner ordered.

Pidgeotto obeyed, the attack making Mismagius twirl around.

"Mismagius, Confuse Ray!"

"Double Team again!" Falkner said.

Pidgeotto managed to escape the Confuse Ray, zipping around Mismagius even faster than he had around the Gengar.

"Quick Attack, then Gust!" Falkner said.

"Mismagius, Magical Leaf!"

The razor sharp leaves Mismagius sent at him barely left a mark as Pidgeotto plunged through Mismagius' form, whipping around and blowing her back with the powerful attack.

"Mismagius, Psybeam, follow up with Confuse Ray!"

The Psybeam hit once more, disorienting Pidgeotto for a moment, but he once more dodged the Confuse Ray, flapping around the larger Pokémon as he waited for his next command.

"Pidgeotto, hit her with a Twister and a Sand Attack!"

The move combination through the Mismagius off completely, so when Falkner ordered him to follow up with a Gust, she drifted to the ground, defeated. Falkner couldn't help his grin as he called Pidgeotto back after Fantina had done the same with her own.

"Well done," she said after a moment. "You have a good style." He moved to meet her in the middle of the arena, holding his hand out when she unclipped the badge from her hair. "You are quite deserving of this."

"Thank you," he said with a quick nod. "I had a lot of practice getting to know Ghost Pokémon with Morty, though I've never seen a Mismagius before."

"She was only recently discovered in Sinnoh, actually," she said. "So I would be surprised if you had. When will Morty be returning?"

Falkner shrugged, biting at his lip. "I'm not sure. Would you...would you like to speak with him?"

Fantina smiled warmly at him as she had before. "Yes, I would like that very much. Please. Come see me once he returns."

"Alright," he said. "Thank you."

"And thank you," she said with a quick bow.

He left the Gym and headed straight for the PokéCenter, making sure to heal all of his Pokémon before heading back to the hotel to wait for Morty.

-.-

Morty hopped off of Drifblim's broad top, absorbing the balloon Pokémon back into a Pokéball before heading into the hotel and asking for Falkner's name. He had been later than he intended, having to stop off at Canalave for more books. After hours of pouring through them, and still finding nothing, he had headed to Hearthome.

Falkner was napping on the bed when he walked into the room, but the younger stirred upon hearing the door open. He turned onto his side, and then sat up abruptly when he saw Morty.

"Oh, you're back," he said, rubbing at his eyes.

"Yeah, sorry for the delay," Morty said with a strained smile. "Did you miss me?"

His smile widened a bit when Falkner flushed and nodded. "I was able to defeat Fantina. She said that she wanted to speak with you when you got back though."

Morty frowned. Undoubtedly, if Sabrina had been contacted by Gardenia, Fantina had too. But on the other hand, there was a chance that Fantina would know what the symbols on the walls were. "I guess we can go do that before we leave. Congratulations, by the way. I knew you'd be fine."

Falkner grinned, getting to his feet. "Yeah. She had a Mismagius, which threw me off at first, but I was able to win. You should've seen me."

"I'm sorry that I didn't," Morty said, stepping closer.

"It's okay. I...I get that you had other things to take care of," Falkner said, glancing to the side. "And I mean...it wasn't so bad being on my own either."

Something twisted in Morty's stomach when he heard Falkner say that, but he pushed it inside in favor of wrapping his arm around Falkner's shoulders and pulling him towards the door. "Yeah, well you're stuck with me now. Is Tailow out exploring?"

"Yeah, he popped outside before I fell asleep. He'll probably find me wherever we go," Falkner said with a shrug. "How are things? In Lavender Town?"

Morty gave a shrug of his own, arm not leaving the younger's shoulders. "It was...stressful. Things certainly aren't getting any better, but maybe Fantina can clear some things up for me."

"Maybe," Falkner said as they stepped outside.

Morty internally winced as Falkner fell silent. Perhaps it was not the smartest thing to dump his problems on the younger, dampen his good mood with problems he didn't need to worry about. Morty was supposed to be the mature one after all, the mentor. He wasn't supposed to rely on Falkner; it was supposed to be the other way around. Then again, it seemed to be a little bit late for that, after everything.

When they reached the Gym, Fantina was already locked in battle with a young man, but she did nod at them when they walked in, so they hung near the entrance and watched.

"That's Cheren," Falkner said, gesturing at the other trainer. "He's from Unova. I met him earlier today."

"He's not the smartest, going up against a Ghost Trainer with Normal Types," Morty said with a raised eyebrow. As they spoke, Mismagius' attack went right Patrat, and then the little thing darted forward with a vicious Bite. "Okay, I take that back. He's pretty smart."

"His name is Cheren. He's training to be the Normal Type leader in Unova," Falkner said. "He already beat the Unova Challenge too."

The awe in Falkner's voice made Morty's gut tighten further, which was stupid. Of course if he was up and vanishing on Falkner on a regular basis, the younger would go out and make other friends, admire other people. What he didn't like was why it bugged him so much, made him want to demand Falkner's undivided attention.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Cheren's Patrat knocked the Mismagius out. Fantina recalled her Pokémon and headed over to congratulate the challenger, and Falkner tugged on his arm so they could go join.

"I see you have brought Morty back," Fantina said as she handed the badge over to Cheren. "How was Lavender Town?"

"I actually was going to ask if you could help me identify some runes we found," he said.

"Cheren, you did great," Falkner said, grabbing the trainer's arms.

"Thanks to your advice, yes," Cheren said, readjusting his glasses. He looked over at Morty, and the Ghost Trainer was surprised to see how intelligent the gaze was when he met the younger's eyes. He was definitely no pushover. "Falkner speaks highly of you. When you are done speaking with Fantina, I have a question I would like to ask."

Morty's eyebrows rose. "Yes, that's fine." The tension in his chest loosened at the idea of Falkner bragging about him to the other trainer.

"You two may talk, if you have a picture of the runes for me to examine in the meantime," Fantina said.

Morty reached into his pocket for the hard copy he had, handing it to her before turning his full attention to Cheren. "So, what kind of rumors has my student been telling you about me?"

Fantina stepped back a bit to give them their space, gaze focused on the paper Morty had given her.

"He mentioned that you have a Chandelure under your care. I was wondering how you came across it," Cheren said.

Morty couldn't stop the smirk twisting his lips up. "I...found myself in Unova a little after my own Challenge. Purely on accident, a mishap with a boat and a storm, and I had a chance to explore the first floor of Celestial Tower before I was caught and exiled out of the country."

"You never told me that," Falkner said, eyes widening.

"Didn't think it was worth mentioning," Morty said honestly. "I wasn't there long, though I did get a chance to meet quite a few Pokémon, including that little beast there." He gestured down at the Patrat that was standing beside Cheren's leg.

Cheren shook his head, his own smirk on his face. "You are a most interesting character. I'm sure you have a lot to pass on to Falkner. Maybe he will pass some of it on to me." As he spoke, he absorbed the Patrat back into its Pokéball.

Falkner smiled at the other. "Sure, no problem. You should give me your number, so we can stay in touch."

Cheren reached into his pocket to pull out his cellphone. "I would like that very much."

"I hate to interrupt, but I do not recognize these symbols, Morty," Fantina said, stepping back over to them as Cheren and Falkner exchanged numbers. She handed the paper back to him. "My apologies."

"No, it's fine. I couldn't find anything in Canalave's library either," he said.

"Could I look?" Cheren asked as he pocketed his phone.

"Yeah, he's from Unova. Maybe it's nothing from around here," Falkner said.

Morty shrugged and handed the paper over. "If you can make sense of it, be my guest. Any help is welcome."

Cheren examined the rune for a while, frowning. "Do you mind if I keep this?" He glanced up at Morty. "I know some people back at Unova who might be able to help. It certainly looks familiar, but I can't quite place it."

"I was thinking of asking Shauntal next, actually," Morty said.

Cheren gave a wry grin. "That actually wasn't who I was going to ask. I think I know someone who could be even more useful."

Morty raised an eyebrow. "If you think so."

"I have Falkner's number. I'll get back in touch with you as soon as I can," he said. He nodded at all of them once. "If you'll excuse me, I must be going. It was nice meeting you Morty, and I wish you luck on your journey, Falkner."

"Bye, Cheren!" Falkner said as the young trainer headed out.

When he was out of sight, Fantina cleared her throat. "Morty, Gardenia has spoken with me about what happened when you were in Eterna. I wanted to say that-"

"Wait," Falkner said. "I already told you that you can't judge him on what happened there. You don't understand the whole of it."

Morty frowned, gaze flickering over to Falkner. "What?"

"She-"

"If you will let me finish, Falkner," Fantina continued, gaze sharp. "I was going to say that I trust your judgment to do the right thing, Morty. Falkner seems to trust you, and I will judge you only on your actions now. Falkner has convinced me that you are not one to be blamed for past actions."

"What did he tell you?" Morty asked, glancing between them.

"Nothing, really, he just spoke quite highly of your character. I do not think a man with bad intentions could inspire such loyalty from him," she said with a firm nod. "You have an ally in me, Morty. I hope that helps, in some small way."

He blinked in surprise. "Yes, it does. Thank you."

She smiled, the sharpness of her eyes giving way to warmth. "I wish you both luck then. Let me know if there is anything else I may do to help you."

"We will. Thank you, Fantina."

-.-

When they arrived back at the hotel, it registered to Morty that there was only one bed, a single, in the room Falkner had bought.

"I'm sorry, I figured we'd be leaving tonight, not staying," Falkner said as he opened up the hotel window for Tailow to fly through when he felt like returning.

"It's alright, I don't mind sharing," Morty said. "Or sleeping on the floor. Whatever makes you most comfortable."

Falkner set his pack down on the ground, avoiding Morty's gaze even when the older stepped closer to set his own pack down next to his. "I wouldn't mind sharing, actually." He glanced up at Morty, flushing when he saw the older staring down at him with a small smile on his lips. "What?"  
"Did you really defend me to Fantina? Before I met with her?"

Falkner glanced back down at the ground. "Yeah. She was being unfair, and I don't like listening to people talk bad about you. You don't deserve it. I know you don't."

"Thanks, Falkner. It means a lot to hear you say that."

When Falkner looked back up, Morty's lips brushed his, barely anything at all. For a moment, he didn't move, and the older trainer pulled back and began to turn around. At the last second, Falkner grabbed the edge of his scarf and turned him back, pressing their lips together firmly, one hand fisting in the black fabric of the older's sweater. Morty made a soft noise of surprise, then curled an arm around his waist and tugged him closer, lips soft against the other's. Before it could go any further though, he was pulling out of Falkner's grasp and heading for the bathroom.

Later that night, when they curled into bed, Tailow resting on the windowsill, neither mentioned the way Morty's arm curled tight around his stomach so they were pressed tight, chest to back. Falkner couldn't ignore though, that he slept a lot easier with Morty's lips on the back of his neck.


End file.
